\ 


f  

Sch.R. 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
DURHAM,  N.  C. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/taskaheadmissionOOclar 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 
The  Missionary  Crisis  of  the  Church 


0 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 

THE  MISSIONARY  CRISIS 
OF  THE  CHURCH 


BY 

ELMER  T.  CLARK 

PUBLICITY  SECRETARY  OF  THE  CENTENARY  COMMISSION 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  SOUTH 


e 


BOARD  OF  MISSIONS 
CENTENARY  COMMISSION 
METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  SOUTH 
NASHVILLE,  TENNESSEE 


Copyright,  1925 
by  the  Centenary  Commission 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South 


PREFACE  £   5  f  2- 

THIS  volume  is  published  and  distributed  under  the  authority  of 
the  Home  Base  Committee  of  the  Board  of  Missions  and  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Centenary  Commission  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Its  purpose  is  two-fold:  First, 
to  present  a  comprehensive  view  of  all  the  missionary  work  of  the 
Church,  Home  and  Foreign,  both  General  and  Woman's  Work; 
Second,  to  announce  and  seek  support  for  the  Advance  World  Program, 
which  is  a  plan  for  maintaining  this  work. 

A  perusal  of  this  book  will  show  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  is  in  the  midst  of  a  serious  crisis  which  may  result  in  a 
catastrophe.  No  Church  in  the  world  has  been  more  sincere  in  its 
efforts  to  evangelize  the  dark  corners  of  the  earth,  and  none  has 
developed  a  finer  or  more  successful  missionary  system.  During  the 
past  few  years  our  strides  have  been  truly  remarkable. 

As  the  Centenary  period  draws  to  a  close  the  problem  of  maintenance 
arises.  We  cannot  support  our  enlarged  program  on  an  income  which 
had  to  be  largely  supplemented  even  before  we  made  the  advance.  The 
pressure  upon  our  resources  has  already  proven  too  great  and  the 
General  Work  has  already  incurred  a  heavy  indebtedness.  Now  we 
must  decide  whether  we  shall  increase  our  income  so  as  to  meet  our 
expenses  and  continue  our  missionary  policy,  or  whether  we  shall  retreat 
to  the  policy  of  bygone  days  and  retrench  in  our  work  by  abandoning 
mission  fields,  recalling  missionaries,  and  closing  institutions. 

Convinced  that  our  Church  will  never  consent  to  such  a  retreat,  we 
have  formulated  the  Advance  World  Program.  It  is  offered  to  our 
preachers  and  people  as  our  plan  for  continuing  in  the  Missionary  busi- 
ness on  a  worthy  scale.  And  we  most  earnestly  solicit  the  sacrificial 
cooperation  of  all  congregations  in  insuring  its  success. 

Bishop  W.  B.  Beauchamp, 

Chairman,  Centenary  Commission. 
Chairman,  Home  Base  Committee,  Board  of 
Missions. 

W.  G.  Cram, 

Directing  Secretary,  Centenary  Commission. 

W.  W.  PlNSON, 

E.  H.  Rawlings, 

Miss  Mabel  K.  Howell, 

Miss  Esther  Case, 

Foreign  Secretaries,  Board  of  Missions. 

R.  L.  Russell, 
J.  W.  Perry, 
Mrs.  J.  H.  McCoy, 
Mrs.  J.  W.  Downs, 

Home  Secretaries,  Board  of  Missions. 


7  37&I 


John  Wesley 
i  look  upon  all  the  world  as  my  parish, 


CONTENTS 


introductory  section 

Chapter  Page 

I.    Methodism  and  Missions   11 

II.   The  Centenary  Advance   18 

III.  The  Centenary  Delinquency   25 

IV.  Deficits  in  Missions   33 

V.   Our  Present  Situation   36 

VI.   The  Advance  World  Program   40 

VII.  Plan  of  the  Advance  World  Program  43 

VIII.    Financial  Summary   48 

IX.   The  Missionary  Conscience   51 

foreign  section 

X.    Africa  .  .  57 

XI.    Belgium   65 

XII.    Brazii   71 

XIII.  China    81 

XIV.  Cuba    .'.   93 

XV.    Czechoslovakia    103 

XVI.   Japan   Ill 

XVII.    Korea   121 

XVIII.    Mexico   133 

XIX.    Poland   145 

XX.    Siberia-Manchuria   1 55 


CONTENTS 


HOME  SECTION 


XXI.    Army  and  Navy  :   165 

XXII.    City  and  Industrial   173 

XXIII.  Educational   185 

XXIV.  French   195 

XXV.    Immigrants   203 

XXVI.    Indians   215 

XXVII.    Mountains   221 

XXVIII.   Negroes   229 

XXIX.    Rural....   237 

XXX.     SUSTENTATION    249 


t 


INTRODUCTORY  SECTION 


METHODISM  AND  MISSIONS 
THE  CENTENARY  ADVANCE 
THE  CENTENARY  DELINQUENCY 
DEFICITS  IN  MISSIONS 
OUR  PRESENT  SITUATION 
THE  ADVANCE  WORLD  PROGRAM 
PLAN  OF  THE  ADVANCE  WORLD  PROGRAM 
FINANCIAL  SUMMARY 
THE  MISSIONARY  CONSCIENCE 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


CHAPTER  I 
METHODISM  AND  MISSIONS 


HE  charter  of  Christianity  is  the  Great  Commis- 


sion: "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 


gospel  to  the  whole  creation."  This  makes  of  any 
Church  that  claims  the  name  of  Christian  a  missionary 
organization,  and  in  so  far  as  it  departs  from  missionary 
activity  it  loses  its  Christian  nature.  Every  branch  which 
neglected  this  fundamental  has  atrophied  and  died. 
There  is  today  no  difference  of  opinion  among  enlight- 
ened Christians:  Missions  is  the  supreme  work  of  the 
Church. 

At  the  outset  of  its  career  Methodism  was  put  in 
line  with  the  Great  Commission  by  its  founder  and 
leaders.  John  Wesley  was  a  foreign  missionary  be- 
fore he  was  a  Methodist,  and  his  most  famous  and 
influential  utterance  was  a  missionary  message:  "I 
look  upon  all  the  world  as  my  parish."  Thomas  Coke, 
the  first  superintendent,  was  aflame  with  missionary 
zeal;  he  established  Methodism  in  Nova  Scotia  and  the 
West  Indies  and  died  at  sea  enroute  to  India  on  a 
similar  mission. 

At  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  America  two  preachers  were  sent  to  Nova 
Scotia  and  a  collection  was  taken  for  their  support. 
Bishop  Asbury  collected  funds  for  his  "mite  society"  and 
thus  aided  the  preachers  sent  to  the  western  frontiers. 
But  the  negro,  John  Stewart,  who  on  his  own  initiative 


11 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


became  a  worker  among  the  Wyandotte  Indians  at  Upper 
Sandusky,  Ohio,  in  1819,  is  commonly  regarded  as  the 
first  Methodist  missionary  in  America. 

Official  connectional  missions  dates  from  1819,  when 
the  "Missionary  Society"  was  established  in  New  York. 
The  following  year  the  first  missionaries  were  appointed, 
two  preachers  being  sent  to  the  French  population  of 
Louisiana.  The  first  foreign  mission  was  founded  in 
Liberia  in  1833.  From  these  beginnings  Methodism, 
literally  obeying  the  Great  Commission,  has  proceeded 
to  occupy  the  World  Parish  of  Wesley's  dreams.  It  has 
literally  gone  into  all  the  world  and  preached  the  gospel 
to  every  creature.  There  is  scarcely  any  corner  of  the 
globe  wherein  representatives  of  some  branch  of  Method- 
ism are  not  at  work  in  the  Master's  name. 

In  1844  Methodism  was  represented  abroad  in  Liberia 
and  Argentine,  but  these  fields  went  to  the  northern 
branch  when  the  Church  was  divided.  When  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South,  was  organized,  a  Mis- 
sionary Society  also  came  into  being,  and  in  1846  its  first 
annual  report  showed  missions  among  the  Negroes,  In- 
dians, Germans,  French,  and  in  Texas.  These  were  all 
"home  fields,"  so-called,  and  missionary  work  among  the 
neglected  groups  of  this  country  always  occupied  a  large 
place  in  the  thinking  and  program  of  Southern 
Methodism. 

The  new  Church,  however,  had  a  world  vision  and 
made  immediate  preparations  to  expand  in  the  World 
Parish.  Charles  Taylor  was  sent  to  China  in  1848  and 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  Southern  Methodism  con- 
centrated its  foreign  policy  on  this  vast  field.  Mexico 
was  entered  in  1873  and  our  first  missionaries  began 
working  in  Brazil  in  1875-1876. 

12 


METHODISM  AND  MISSIONS 


The  Lambuths  went  to  Japan  from  China  in  1886  and 
in  1896  Reid  and  Collyer,  also  from  China,  received 
Baron  T.  H.  Yun  and  wife  as  the  first-fruits  of  our  work 
in  Korea. 

Cuba  was  occupied  in  1898,  at  the  close  of  the  Spanish- 
American  War.  Then  in  191 1  Bishop  Lambuth  and  Prof. 
John  Wesley  Gilbert  blazed  their  historic  trail  into  the 
heart  of  the  Congo.  Two  years  later  the  first  detachment 
of  Southern  Methodist  missionaries  left  home  for  the 
Dark  Continent. 

Thus  within  two  generations  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  had  occupied  seven  foreign  lands  and  at 
the  same  time  had  covered  the  South  and  Southwest  with 
a  varied  program  of  connectional  home  mission  activity. 


In  1919  American  Methodism  rounded  out  a  full  cen- 
tury of  Missionary  activity. 

At  that  time  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
occupied  seven  foreign  fields  and  employed  a  force  of 
298  missionaries,  including  wives,  who  are  frequently 
regarded  as  missionaries  because  they  receive  an  allow- 
ance from  the  Board  of  Missions  and  in  reality  do  actual 
missionary  work. 

In  the  home  field  connectional  agencies  carried  on 
sustentation  work  in  seventeen  conferences  and  a  varied 
program  of  missions  was  in  operation  among  the  Indians, 
Negroes,  and  Immigrants,  and  some  activity  had  been 
started  in  the  textile  centers  and  cities.  The  Home  Mis- 
sion work  of  the  women  was  even  more  extensive  than 
that  of  the  General  Department. 


13 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Chart  Showing 


Spread  of  our 

Foreign  Missions 


1848 


Chirm 


1886 


1873 


China  and  Mexico 


1896 


China 
Mexico 
Brazil 
Japan 

Korea, 


1875 


China, Mexico  and  Brazil 

1898 


China 
Mexico 

Brazil 
Japan 

Korea 

Cuba 


1914 


China 
Mexico 
Brazil 
Japan 
Korea,  Cuba 
Africa 


1920 


China 
Mexico,  Brazil 
Japan ,  Korea 
Cuba,  Africa 
Chechoslovakia 
Belgium ,  Poland 
Siberia  -Manchuria 


f 


14 


METHODISM  AND  MISSIONS 


The  total  amount  available  for  the  maintenance  of  this 
program,  including  cultivation  and  administration,  was 
$1,698,549.  In  detail  the  funds  were  distributed  as 
follows : 

Foreign  Department,  General  Work  $863,229 

Foreign  Department,  Woman's  Work   413,148 

Home  Department,  General  Work   155,173 

Home  Department,  Woman's  Work   266,999 

In  addition  to  these  amounts  the  various  Annual  Con- 
ferences raised  for  missions  within  their  respective  bor- 
ders the  total  sum  of  $467,968. 

Thus  at  the  beginning  of  1919  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  South,  was  giving  99  cents  per  member 
annually  for  all  forms  of  home  and  foreign  missions ; 
40  cents  of  this  was  for  home  work  and  59  cents  for  the 
foreign  fields. 

*    *  * 

■^y- 

The  regular  income  of  the  Board  of  Missions  from  the 
assessments  was  not  large  enough  to  cover  the  budget  for 
its  General  Work.  Of  the  $1,018,402  necessary  to  main- 
tain this  work,  only  $578,855  was  realized  from  the  as- 
sessments. The  Board  was  thus  placed  under  the  necessity 
of  securing  funds  from  other  sources  or  greatly  curtailing 
its  activity.  The  difference  between  its  expenses  and  its 
regular  annual  income  was  derived  mainly  from  Specials 
which  were  assumed  by  congregations,  organizations,  and 
individuals. 

The  finances  necessary  to  maintain  the  Woman's  Work 
were  derived  mainly  from  the  missionary  auxiliaries 
through  the  regular  conference  organizations  of  the 
Woman's  Missionary  Society. 


15 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


With  the  completion  of  one  hundred  years  of  Meth- 
odist missionary  activity  came  a  missionary  crisis.  For 
many  years  the  Board  of  Missions  had  been  heavily 
burdened  by  debt,  but  this  had  been  gradually  reduced 
and  at  last  eliminated.  As  pointed  out  above,  the  assess- 
ments were  insufficient  to  meet  expenses,  and  every  energy 
was  exerted  to  secure  special  funds.  Progress  had  been 
made,  but  with  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War  came  a 
decrease  in  revenue,  and  by  1919  the  situation  became 
desperate. 

Various  elements  combined  to  adversely  affect  the  suc- 
cessful operation  of  missions  at  home  and  abroad : 

1.  The  change  in  exchange  rates  in  various  foreign 
lands  greatly  reduced  the  value  of  the  American  dollar. 

2.  The  rapid  increase  in  prices  of  commodities  and 
transportation  greatly  reduced  the  purchasing  power 
of  the  dollar. 

3.  The  disruption  of  the  missionary  work  of  the  com- 
batant nations  threw  on  us  burdens  not  contemplated 
in  our  budgets. 

In  view  of  all  these  conditions  it  was  clearly  apparent 
to  all  observers  that  the  customary  budget  of  the  Board 
of  Missions  could  not  meet  the  situation.  Unless  more 
money  could  be  secured  the  Church  faced  disaster  in  its 
missionary  work.  The  old  income  could  not  even  main- 
tain the  status  quo. 

But  in  view  of  the  world  situation  the  status  quo 
was  not  an  adequate  program  for  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South.  Even  when  it  could  not  maintain 
the  work  it  had  already  launched,  the  Church  faced 
the  necessity  of  projecting  even  greater  things. 

16 


METHODISM  AND  MISSIONS 


The  World  War  brought  with  it  a  missionary  need 
and  duty  which  Methodism  could  not  evade.  In  every 
field  the  demands  and  opportunities  were  multiplied 
many  fold.  In  stricken  European  nations  the  very  dis- 
tress of  the  people  made  it  incumbent  upon  us  to  serve 
them.  None  was  left  to  serve  save  Americans  only.  In 
the  hands  of  American  Protestantism  rested  Christianity's 
future. 

All  right  thinking  men  were  agreed  that  Methodism's 
path  was  forward.  "This  great  world  trial,"  declared  the 
General  Conference  of  1918,  "will  prove  the  savor  of  life 
unto  life  or  death  unto  death,  not  only  as  to  nations,  but 
as  to  Churches,  ours  among  the  others.  To  wrap  our- 
selves in  comfortable  complacency  means  that  our  salt 
will  lose  its  savor  and  that  corrosive  selfishness  will  eat 
out  our  spiritual  life." 

It  was  a  missionary  crisis.  It  corresponded  in  point  of 
time  with  the  centennial  of  American  Methodist  missions, 
and  out  of  it  was  born  the  Missionary  Centenary. 


17 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  CENTENARY  ADVANCE 


ITTING  in  the  midst  of  the  world  cataclysm,  the 


General  Conference  of  1918  rightly  sensed  that  "the 


hour  has  struck  for  mighty  things"  and  that  "the 
time  is  at  hand  when  the  Church  must  step  forth  in  power 
and  with  a  holy  enthusiasm."  It  accordingly  approved 
the  Missionary  Centenary,  and  authorized  its  agencies  to 
appeal  to  the  Church  for  $25,000,000  in  new  money  to 
meet  the  crisis  at  hand. 

Methodists  will  never  forget  the  thrill  which  ran 
through  the  heart  of  the  Church  in  1919  when  the  Cen- 
tenary was  carried  to  such  a  triumphant  success.  Its 
slogan  was  amply  proved:  "When  two  million  Meth- 
odists go  from  their  knees  to  any  task,  it  shall  be 
done."  Nine  hundred  thousand  members  of  our 
Church  made  pledges  approximating  $35,000,000  in 
new  money,  while  the  Epworth  Leagues  and  Sunday 
schools  added  two  millions  more,  thus  oversubscribing 
the  objective  50%.  Thereby  was  ushered  in  the  most 
remarkable  period  of  advance  ever  known  in  all  the 
glorious  history  of  Methodism. 

This  Centenary  money  soon  began  to  flow  into  the 
treasury.  The  receipts  in  actual  cash  from  this  source 
have  been  as  follows : 

1919  $4,650,432 

1920   5,014,767 

1921   3,140,465 

1922    2,982,680 

1923   3,080,073 

1924  (to  October  1st)   1,167,771 


THE  CENTENARY  ADVANCE 


Of  course  all  the  Centenary  money  did  not  go  to  the 
Board  of  Missions.  It  was  distributed  approximately  as 
follows : 


Foreign  Department,  General  Work   24% 

Home  Department,  General  Work   14% 

Foreign  Department,  Woman's  Work   10% 

Home  Department,  Woman's  Work   5% 

Annual  Conference  Boards  of  Missions   10% 

Church  Extension    7% 

European  Reconstruction   18% 

Mission  Buildings                             .   4% 

Expense    8  % 


Total  100% 


At  the  conclusion  of  the  World  War  the  18%  included 
in  the  Centenary  askings  for  European  Reconstruction 
was  divided  between  our  new  European  and  Siberia- 
Manchurian  mission  fields  and  the  work  of  building 
churches  in  the  educational  centers  at  home,  60%  being 
devoted  to  the  former  and  40%  to  the  latter. 

The  total  askings  for  one  year  for  our  connectional  mis- 
sionary work  are  as  follows : 


Foreign  Department,  General  Work  $1,309,269.40 

Foreign  Department,  Woman's  Work   559,426.60 

Home  Department,  General  Work   783,638.00 

Home  Department,  Woman's  Work   248,000.00 

Europe  and  Siberia-Manchuria   600,000.00 


Total  $3,500,334.00 


For  the  years  1920, 1921,  and  1922  these  askings  have 
been  paid  in  full.  They  have  not  yet  been  paid  in  full 
for  1923,  however,  owing  to  the  fact  that  sufficient 
sums  have  not  yet  been  paid  on  the  Centenary  pledges. 


19 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Centenary  Money  Received 

1919 


1920 
1921 
1922 
1923 

1924 

TO  OCT.  1st 


4,650,432 


5,014,767. 


13,140,465 


12,982,680. 


#3,080,073. 


11,167,771. 


Of  course  this  Centenary  money  made  possible  a  great 
increase  in  the  work  of  the  Board  of  Missions.  In  fact  it 
multiplied  the  activities  of  each  department  by  three. 

In  1919  the  amount  available  for  all  forms  of  con- 
nectional  missions  was  less  than  $1,700,000;  in  1920  it 
was  more  than  $4,800,000.  In  the  latter  year  about 
$1,300,000  came  from  the  regular  sources  of  income 
while  the  Centenary  furnished  $3,500,000.  This  same 
proportion  was  maintained  during  the  years  of  1921 
and  1922. 


The  achievements  of  the  Centenary  in  all  the  Mission 
fields  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  at  home 
and  abroad,  have  thrilled  the  Church  and  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  outside  world.  A  complete  statement  of 

20 


THE  CENTENARY  ADVANCE 


Where  The 

Centenary  Money  Goes 


these  accomplishments  would  fill  a  large  volume.  They 
are  well  known  to  Methodists  everywhere,  but  a  few  of 
the  high  points  of  achievement  may  be  reiterated  here: 

1.  In  1919,  after  75  years  of  missionary  history,  we 
had  occupied  seven  foreign  fields;  the  Centenary  in  four 
years  entered  the  nations  of  Belgium,  Poland,  Czecho- 
slovakia, and  Siberia-Manchuria,  thus  bringing  our  for- 
eign fields  to  eleven. 

2.  The  Centenary  sent  out  nearly  300  new  foreign  mis- 
sionaries and  added  as  many  more  to  the  home  staff. 

3.  It  projected  in  Korea  and  Czechoslovakia  the  great- 
est evangelistic  movements  of  modern  times  and  swept 
those  lands  with  revival  fire.  In  Korea  we  won  25,000 
new  believers  and  in  Czechoslovakia  we  have  developed 
a  strong  Church. 

21 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


4.  It  built  or  rebuilt  SO  schools  and  colleges,  300 
churches,  12  hospitals,  and  25  institutional  plants  in  for- 
eign lands  alone. 

5.  It  developed  in  Belgium  the  only  Protestant  girls' 
school  in  that  section  of  Europe;  the  finest  mission  plants 
in  Poland,  Cuba,  Czechoslovakia,  and  Brazil;  the  only 
real  college  in  Korea;  the  greatest  hospital  in  China;  the 
three  leading  orphanages  in  Poland;  the  best  mission 
publishing  house  in  Brazil. 

6.  It  entered  western  Siberia  with  workers  who  en- 
dured persecution  at  the  hands  of  the  Bolsheviks;  it  pub- 
lishes a  Christian  Advocate  in  the  Russian  language  at 
Harbin  and  maintains  a  large  school  in  the  same  city. 

7.  It  kindled  a  revival  in  our  country.'  In  1919  we  were 
losing  members  at  the  rate  of  1,000  per  day.  Since  then 
we  have  had  a  net  increase  of  nearly  a  third  of  a  million. 

8.  It  carried  out  a  campaign  of  Stewardship  which  was 
largely  instrumental  in  increasing  pastors'  salaries  $3,- 
000,000  a  year. 

9.  It  has  invested  more  in  missions  than  the  Church 
raised  for  this  cause  during  the  previous  twenty  years. 

10.  It  enlisted  5,000  Life  Service  Volunteers,  750  of 
whom  are  now  at  work  at  home  and  abroad. 

11.  It  opened  up  a  whole  new  presiding  elder's  district 
and  doubled  our  membership  in  New  Mexico;  it  trebled 
the  charges  in  Arizona  and  multiplied  the  membership 
by  four. 

12.  It  built  a  school  for  Mexican  girls  at  Pharr,  Texas ; 
a  school  for  Mexican  boys  at  San  Antonio;  a  school  for 
French  children  at  Houma,  La. ;  a  school  for  moun- 
taineers at  Crossville,  Tenn. ;  a  school  for  Indians  at 
Smithville,  Okla.  It  gave  $50,000  each  to  our  12  mission 
schools  in  the  Appalachian  mountains. 

22 


THE  CENTENARY  ADVANCE 


The  Centenary 

Incre  a  s  e 


1920 


1919 


*  1,700,000. 


4,800,000. 


13.  It  placed  nearly  two  million  dollars  in  the  hands 
of  the  various  Annual  Conference  Boards  of  Missions  to 
be  spent  by  them  locally. 

14.  It  placed  pastors  in  6  army  and  navy  camps  and 
chaplains  in  8  government  tuberculosis  hospitals.  It 
aids  18  Methodist  chaplains  in  the  regular  army  and 
navy.  This  is  the  first  time  we  ever  undertook  a  program 
of  service  for  our  lads  in  khaki  and  blue. 

15.  It  established  14  Pastors'  Schools,  wherein  nearly 
3,000  preachers  are  annually  trained  in  modern  methods 
of  Church  work. 

16.  It  developed  the  first  connectional  policy  our 
Church  ever  projected  for  the  salvation  of  the  Rural 
Church.  The  Department  of  Rural  Work  maintains  a 
number  of  "demonstration  districts"  and  "demonstration 

23 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


charges"  in  various  sections  of  the  country  and  these  are 
working  out  efficient  and  practical  rural  methods.  It  has 
already  reopened  a  large  number  of  abandoned  country 
churches.  It  conducts  Rural  Life  Institutes  for  country 
preachers.  It  has  established  Departments  of  Rural 
Church  Work  in  Southern  Methodist  University,  Hen- 
drix  College,  Birmingham-Southern  College,  and  Cen- 
tral College  for  the  training  of  country  preachers  and 
laymen. 

17.  It  supports  120  mission  pastors  of  the  Colored 
Methodist  Church  and  conducts  a  Summer  School  for 
Negro  Pastors.  It  assists  five  colleges  of  the  Colored 
Methodist  Church. 

18.  It  supports  SO  preachers  and  workers  in  our  indus- 
trial centers  and  in  the  slums  of  our  large  cities. 

These  are  but  a  few  sample  achievements  of  the  Cen- 
tenary. They  are  the  high  points  of  the  greatest  mis- 
sionary movement  of  Methodist  history,  and  as  se- 
lected operations  they  illustrate  the  mighty  advance 
our  Church  has  made  since  1919. 


24 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  CENTENARY  DELINQUENCY 

LET  it  be  remembered  that  all  these  things — and  the 
hundreds  of  other  results  which  might  be  men- 
tioned— were  accomplished  on  only  a  part  of  the 
budget  asked  for.  As  glorious  as  they  are,  they  do  not  in 
any  complete  sense  represent  the  fulfillment  of  the  Cen- 
tenary program. 

\ 

The  total  amount  pledged  in  the  Centenary  cam- 
paign was  $36,911,166.  On  October  1,  1924,  the  total 
amount  received  in  cash  from  all  Centenary  sources 
was  $20,050,840.95. 

Of  the  more  than  twenty  millions  disbursed  by  the 
Centenary  to  October  1,  1924,  the  sum  of  $17,102,678.75 
was  applied  on  the  askings  of  the  various  Boards  and 
departments,  as  follows: 

Foreign  Department,  General  Work.  .  .  .$  4,483,567.10 

Foreign  Department,  Woman's  Work.  .  .  1,880,407.84 

Home  Department,  General  Work   2,660,054.00 

Home  Department,  Woman's  Work.  .  .  .  873,221.77 
Annual    Conference    Boards    of  Mis- 
sions, 10%   1,763,302.60 

Board  of  Church  Extension   1,332,650.00 

European  Missions    2,015,461.53 

War  Work  Fund   1,272,617.83 

Sunday  School  Board,  10%   141,597.08 

Mission  Buildings  Investment.   679,800.00 

Total..  $17,102,678.75 

25 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Of  course  this  does  not  mean  that  the  remainder  of  the 
Centenary  income  has  been  used  to  meet  expenses.  Much 
of  it,  more  than  a  third  of  a  million  dollars,  remained  as 
cash  on  hand  when  the  above  figures  were  made  on 
October  1,  1924.  A  large  amount  was  actually  paid  to  the 
participating  Boards  under  the  Standard  year  agree- 
ment" to  make  up  their  losses  on  regular  income,  and  this 
cannot  be  counted  on  the  askings  although  it  actually 
went  into  our  missionary  work.  Our  Commission  made  a 
contribution  to  the  Centenary  Celebration  at  Columbus, 
Ohio,  in  1919.  We  have  a  considerable  investment  in 
office  equipment  and  fixtures.  All  of  these  items,  with 
the  expense  account,  make  up  the  difference  between  what 
has  been  received  by  the  Centenary  and  what  it  has  paid 
on  the  official  askings. 

The  expense  has  been  very  small  when  we  consider 
the  magnitude  and  results  of  the  movement.  In  fact, 
the  Centenary  has  been  repeatedly  congratulated  by 
business  men  on  the  economy  of  its  efficient  adminis- 
tration. The  total  expense  of  the  original  campaign 
was  scarcely  of  the  amount  subscribed  in  the 

campaign.  The  total  expense  of  collections  between 
1919  and  1924  has  been  slightly  above  8%  of  the 
amount  collected.  The  total  expense  of  campaign  and 
collections,  from  the  beginning  until  October  1,  1924, 
has  been  about  10%  of  the  actual  cash  received.  This 
is  a  remarkable  showing  when  we  consider  the  fact 
that  we  have  done  a  twenty  million  dollar  business  and 
handled  the  individual  accounts  of  nearly  a  million 
"customers."  What  business  house  can  equal  this 
record? 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  expense  has  never  touched  a 
cent  of  the  money  paid  by  the  Centenary  subscribers  on 
their  pledges.  Every  cent  of  this  money  has  gone  into 

26 


THE  CENTENARY  DELINQUENCY 


How  Missions  Depended 

on  the  Centenary 

During  1920*  1921 T922 

REGULAR  INCOME 


$1,300,000. 


CENTENARY  INCOME 


$3,500,000. 


missionary  work.  The  Centenary  has  received  as  interest 
and  from  sources  other  than  individual  pledges  three- 
quarters  of  a  million  dollars  more  than  the  combined 
expense  of  the  original  campaign  and  collections. 

*    *  * 

As  stated  above,  the  Centenary  money  available  for 
distribution  has  not  been  sufficient  to  pay  in  full  the  ask- 
ings of  the  various  Boards  and  departments  year  by  year 
as  they  fell  due.  It  has  always  been  necessary  to  take  a 
part  of  the  income  each  year  to  finish  paying  the  askings 
for  the  preceding  year. 

The  askings  for  1920,  1921,  and  1922  have  been  paid 
in  full.  But  the  askings  for  1923  were  not  half  paid  on 
October  1,  1924.  All  of  the  Centenary  money  received 
in  1924  was  applied  to  the  askings  of  1923. 

27 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


This,  of  course,  means  that  the  Centenary  is  a  year 
behind,  owing  to  the  great  delinquency  on  the  part  of 
thousands  of  its  subscribers,  and  absolutely  nothing  is  in 
hand  to  take  care  of  the  askings  for  1924.  The  amounts 
remaining  unpaid  on  the  askings  of  the  various  partici- 
pating boards  and  departments,  as  of  October  1,  1924, 
are  as  follows : 

Foreign  Department,  General  Work  $2,062,780.90 

Home  Department,  General  Work   1,258,136.00 

Foreign  Department,  Woman's  Work.  ...  916,716.16 

Home  Department,  Woman's  Work   366,778.23 

Board  of  Church  Extension   667,350.00 

Annual  Conference  Boards  of  Missions.  .  736,698.00 


The  delinquency  of  so  many  persons  on  their  Cen- 
tenary pledges,  resulting  in  the  inability  of  the  Cen- 
tenary to  pay  the  askings  in  full,  is  responsible  for  one 
of  the  most  serious  tragedies  ever  encountered  by  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  Around  the 
world  we  have  started  enterprises  which  we  have  not 
been  able  to  finish.  It  has  plunged  us  in  debt,  handi- 
capped our  missionary  work,  injured  our  good  name 
as  a  people,  embarrassed  us  in  the  eyes  and  estimation 
of  the  people  in  mission  lands.  Let  us  review  a  few  of 
the  unfinished  tasks  of  the  Centenary,  caused  by  our 
negligence  in  the  matter  of  our  sacred  promises,  any 
one  of  which  is  a  reflection  upon  us : 

1.  At  Tampa,  Florida,  our  school  for  foreign  children 
is  conducted  in  the  Church.    It  is  filled  to  overflowing 


European  and  War  Work 
Mission  Buildings  


1,711,920.64 
320,200.00 


Total  Centenary  Askings  Unpaid 


$8,040,579.93 


28 


THE  CENTENARY  DELINQUENCY 


and  the  teachers  turn  away  more  than  they  receive.  We 
have  a  lot,  but  the  Centenary  funds  are  not  in  hand  to 
build  a  school.  Here  is  a  great  opportunity  lost,  a  great 
need  unmet,  because  many  persons  have  not  paid  their 
Centenary  pledges. 

2.  We  promised  $70,000  to  Pinson  College  at  Cama- 
guey,  Cuba,  and  the  natives  raised  $12,000  in  cash.  We 
have  not  paid  our  promise,  and  today  Pinson  College  is 
housed  in  dilapidated  wooden  sheds,  crowding  twenty- 
five  of  the  finest  youth  of  Cuba  in  one  sleeping  room,  and 
that  in  an  attic. 

3.  At  Eliza  Bowman  College,  Cienfuegos,  Cuba,  each 
teacher  uses  her  bedroom  for  her  classes.  Other  classes 
meet  in  corridors  and  under  the  trees  in  the  yard.  We 
promised  money  to  provide  an  adequate  building,  but 
the  funds  have  not  been  paid  by  the  Centenary  sub- 
scribers. 

4.  We  began  the  erection  of  a  new  building  for  Vir- 
ginia School,  at  Huchow,  China.  The  framework  was 
erected,  and  then  the  work  was  stopped  for  lack  of  Cen- 
tenary payments.  There  stands  the  skeleton  today,  a  stark 
monument  to  our  delinquency. 

5.  We  promised  to  help  the  Korean  Christians  build 
churches  in  villages  where  bands  were  newly  won  from 
heathenism.  We  promised  to  give  them  two  dollars  when 
they  raised  one.  In  their  zeal  these  new  converts  took  us 
at  our  word.  They  secured  ground.  They  brought  lum- 
ber, stone,  and  clay.  But  their  confidence  in  us  met  no 
response,  for  the  Centenary  pledges  were  not  paid  and 
we  have  not  kept  our  promise. 

6.  We  erected  in  the  heart  of  Havana  a  combined 
school,  church,  and  headquarters  building.  It  is  to  be  the 
pride  of  Cuba.  The  workmen  have  been  dismissed  long 
since  for  lack  of  funds. 


29 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


7.  The  Language  School  for  missionaries  at  Soochow, 
China,  is  greatly  suffering  and  may  die  for  lack  of  funds 
to  erect  a  building. 

8.  The  Centenary  planned  to  remodel  the  Girl's 
Higher  Common  School,  at  Wonsan,  Korea.  The  roof 
leaks.  It  has  no  heating  plant.  The  property  is  deteriorat- 
ing. But  nothing  can  be  done  about  it. 

9.  The  nurses  at  Ivey  Hospital,  Songdo,  Korea,  are 
living  in  a  rickety  native  house  under  conditions  too 
miserable  to  describe.  The  Centenary  promised  a  build- 
ing, but  the  appropriation  cannot  be  paid. 

10.  At  Ribeirao  Preto,  Brazil,  the  crowded  condition 
in  the  Colegio  Methodista  is  positively  dangerous.  Two 
of  our  missionaries  here  recently  contracted  tuberculosis. 
If  this  was  not  directly  due  to  living  conditions,  the 
environment  would  certainly  be  more  healthful  if  the 
new  Centenary  building  could  be  erected. 

1 1.  Bennett  College,  in  the  heart  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  is 
named  for  the  sainted  Miss  Belle  Bennett  and  should  be 
the  pride  of  the  women  of  Methodism.  Yet  it  is  housed 
in  an  old  remodeled  stable  awaiting  the  payment  of  the 
Centenary  pledges  to  secure  an  adequate  building. 

12.  In  Brazil  we  began  the  erection  of  a  college  to  bear 
the  name  of  Bishop  Moore.  The  walls  stand  four  feet 
high,  and  the  work  has  stopped  until  the  Centenary 
pledges  are  redeemed. 

Shall  we  finish  these  enterprises  and  the  multitude 
of  other  tasks  which  remain  uncompleted  in  the  Cen- 
tenary program?  Shall  the  unpaid  askings  be  paid  in 
full?  To  do  so  will  require  the  collection  of  at  least 
$8,040,579.93  on  the  outstanding  Centenary  pledges. 
Serious  thought  will  doubtless  convince  us  that  we  are 
under  an  obligation  to  go  on. 

30 


THE  CENTENARY  DELINQUENCY 


In  the  first  place,  we  have  pledged  ourselves  to  com- 
plete this  program.  It  was  carefully  outlined  five  years 
ago,  then  adopted  by  the  General  Conference.  By  over- 
subscribing the  Centenary  objective  the  rank  and  file  of 
our  people  made  it  their  own.  We  therefore  stand 
pledged  to  its  fulfillment.  To  falter  and  turn  back  would 
be  a  repudiation  of  which  we  should  be  unworthy. 

In  the  second  place,  the  good  name  of  our  Church  is 
at  stake.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  the  feelings  of  the  Korean 
Christians  who  have  fulfilled  their  part  of  the  compact 
we  made  with  them,  the  people  of  Camaguey,  Cuba,  who 
raised  $12,000  in  cash  on  the  strength  of  our  promise  to 
help  our  own  college,  of  heathen  people  everywhere  who 
have  seen  us  fail  to  carry  out  the  enterprises  we  pledged. 
It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  a  continued  failure  would 
so  compromise  us  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  we  are  trying 
to  reach  that  our  Church  might  never  recover  its  moral 
influence  with  them. 

To  promise  and  then  fail  to  perform  will  greatly  in- 
jure us.  To  put  our  hand  to  the  plow  and  then  turn 
back  is  the  course  of  disloyalty  to  a  high  ideal  and  a 
worthy  aim.  To  retreat  means  that  we  will  be  on  the 
defensive  indefinitely — it  means  a  broken  morale. 

In  the  third  place,  we  owe  it  to  our  faithful  mission- 
aries who  have  given  up  home  and  hope  of  preference  to 
carry  the  Gospel  to  the  uttermost  parts.  Failure  now  will 
necessitate  the  recall  of  many  of  them.  Many  self-sacri- 
ficing missionaries  whose  own  institutions  were  in  the 
askings  and  should  have  received  early  help,  willingly 
consented  to  delay  in  order  that  a  neighboring  brother's 
enterprise  might  have  precedence.  Our  failure  now  will 
mean  that  the  unselfishness  of  these  men  is  to  be  penalized 
and  their  own  askings  remain  forever  unpaid. 

31 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


In  the  fourth  place,  there  is  a  moral  element  in- 
volved. Our  people  made  the  Centenary  pledges  in 
good  faith.  In  multiplied  thousands  of  instances  they 
are  well  able  to  pay  them.  Our  resources  as  a  Church 
have  scarcely  been  touched.  Our  prosperity  is  so  great 
as  to  be  positively  alarming.  In  this  situation  it  is  a 
serious  thing  to  even  suggest  that  our  people  will  not 
or  should  not  pay  that  which  they  are  obligated  in  the 
sight  of  men  and  God  to  pay.  Such  a  course  would 
endanger  their  moral  state,  their  spiritual  welfare,  the 
very  salvation  of  their  souls.  "When  thou  vowest  a 
vow  unto  God,"  says  the  Bible  in  a  tone  of  command, 
"defer  not  to  pay  it.  Better  is  it  that  thou  shouldest  not 
vow  than  that  thou  shouldest  vow  and  not  pay  I" 

One  who  pleads  that  the  Centenary  pledges  be  not  col- 
lected and  the  Centenary  askings  be  not  paid  would  be 
pleading  for  an  acknowledgment  of  defeat  in  our  greatest 
and  most  important  undertaking,  for  a  withdrawal  in  the 
work  of  preaching  Christ,  for  scarring  the  souls  of  the 
people  for  whose  spiritual  development  we  are  re- 
sponsible. 


32 


CHAPTER  IV 
DEFICITS  IN  MISSIONS 

THE  Centenary  objective  was  to  raise  $5,000,000 
annually  for  five  years  for  advance  work  and  at  the 
same  time  to  lift  the  standard  of  giving  in  the 
Church  so  as  to  double  our  regular  missionary  income. 
It  was  clearly  recognized  that  the  regular  income  must 
be  doubled  in  order  to  maintain  the  advance  work  pro- 
jected by  the  Centenary.  Otherwise  there  would  be  a  col- 
lapse at  the  end  of  the  Centenary  period,  and  the  last 
state  would  be  worse  than  the  first. 

4^  4St 

It  is  a  distressing  fact  that  the  latter  objective  has  not 
been  realized.  Indeed,  the  exact  opposite  has  come  to 
pass. 

When  the  people  began  paying  on  the  Centenary 
pledges,  they  cut  down  their  contributions  on  the  reg- 
ular assessments  and  Specials.  Since  1919  our  mis- 
sionary income  from  the  assessments  has  decreased 
each  year  except  1923,  and  in  this  year  the  increase  was 
not  large  enough  to  bring  the  income  back  to  the 
standard  figure. 

The  regular  income  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  Gen- 
eral Work,  from  assessments  and  Specials  has  fallen 
off  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  a  year  during  the 
Centenary  period. 

This  meant  that  the  regular  income  was  insufficient  to 
maintain  the  Centenary  advance  work.  It  could  not  even 
maintain  the  old  work.  Now,  however,  the  maintenance 
expense  had  increased  at  least  a  million  dollars  a  year, 
due  to  the  fact  that  five  new  lands  had  been  entered  and 
a  great  advance  had  been  made  in  every  field.  Thus  the 

33 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


How  the  Centenary  Leaves 

The  Board  of  Missions 

General  Work 

'  REGULAR  INCOME 


#650,000. 


EXPENSES 


41,821,015. 


Centenary  funds  had  to  do  the  triple  duty  of  projecting 
the  new  work  for  which  it  had  been  given,  maintaining 
what  it  projected,  and  maintaining  part  of  the  old  work. 

Added  to  this  strain  was  the  vastly  increased  cost  of 
carrying  out  between  1920  and  1924  a  program  outlined 
early  in  1918.  At  the  close  of  the  war  costs  of  materials, 
transportation,  and  living  necessities  soared.  In  this  situa- 
tion almost  every  item  in  the  Centenary  program  cost  at 
least  40%  more  than  the  original  estimate. 

Let  us  summarize  the  situation  with  which  the 
Board  of  Missions  has  been  struggling : 

1.  Its  regular  income  was  reduced  a  quarter  of  a 
million  dollars  a  year. 

2.  Its  maintenance  expenses  were  increased  at  least 
a  million  dollars  a  year  by  the  Centenary  advance  and 
rise  in  prices. 

34 


DEFICITS  IN  MISSIONS 


3.  A  heavy  burden  of  maintenance  was  thus  thrown 
on  the  Centenary  funds. 

4.  Yet  it  was  necessary  to  make  a  great  advance,  not 
only  because  the  world  situation  demanded  it  but  also 
because  the  Centenary  funds  were  given  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

5.  Then  prices  soared  to  such  an  extent  that  it  would 
scarcely  have  been  possible  to  have  carried  out  the 
Centenary  program  even  if  the  pledges  had  been 
promptly  paid. 

6.  But  the  pledges  have  not  been  promptly  paid,  and 
thus  the  Board  of  Missions  has  received  less  than  half 
of  its  Centenary  money  for  1923  and  absolutely  noth- 
ing for  1924. 

*    *  i 

The  Board  was  placed  in  an  impossible  situation  and 
no  human  ingenuity  could  avoid  indebtedness  unless  the 
Centenary  money  was  paid.  Its  expenses  for  1924  were 
$3,994,046.97,  while  its  regular  income  was  estimated  at 
$1,488,284.43.  Thus  there  was  a  difference  of  $2,505,- 
762.54  for  the  Centenary  to  supply.  Early  in  the  year 
the  Bishops  sounded  a  warning  to  the  Church,  declaring 
that  it  would  require  $3,000,000  in  Centenary  collections 
to  maintain  our  missionary  operations.  This  amount  was 
not  paid,  and  accordingly  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  Board  of  Missions  announced  to  the  Church  that  its 
indebtedness  had  reached  the  vast  sum  of  $907,910.49. 


35 


CHAPTER  V 


OUR  PRESENT  SITUATION 


HAT  is  the  present  state  of  affairs  in  the  mis- 


sionary operations  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


Church,  South? 

Between  1920  and  1924  we  wrote  the  most  glorious 
chapter  of  Methodist  history.  Our  achievements  in  ex- 
tending the  Kingdom  of  God  are  unparalleled.  We  have 
made  advances  of  which  no  former  generation  of  Meth- 
odists would  have  dared  to  dream. 

Yet,  owing  to  developments  which  it  was  impossible 
to  foresee,  and  owing  to  the  delinquency  of  many  of 
our  people  in  the  matter  of  their  Centenary  pledges, 
we  now  find  ourselves  staggering  under  an  indebted- 
ness of  a  million  dollars.  Under  ordinary  conditions 
that  debt  would  hamper  us  for  a  generation. 


Unless  energetic  measures  are  now  taken,  and  unless 
Methodist  people  awake  to  the  seriousness  of  the  situation 
and  to  the  sacredness  of  their  obligations,  this  debt  will 
mount  still  higher.  Every  possible  economy  has  been 
effected,  and  the  expenses  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  Gen- 
eral Work  and  Woman's  Work,  for  1925  have  been  cut 
to  $2,753,036,  as  against  $3,994,046  for  1924.  Yet  even 
this  drastic  reduction  of  more  than  $1,240,000  per  year  in 
expenses  is  not  sufficient  to  bring  them  within  the  ordi- 
nary income.  For  example,  the  Home  and  Foreign  De- 
partments, General  Work,  must  spend  $1,821,015  in  1925, 
while  the  assessment  will  yield  only  $650,000,  leaving  a 
deficit  of  $1,171,015  to  be  otherwise  provided  for. 


-ft 


36 


OUR  PRESENT  SITUATION 


Drastic  Economy 

of  the 

Board  of  Missions 

ii 

EXPENSES    FOR  1924 


EXPENSES  FOR  1925 


2,753,036 


The  Church  must  either  make  immediate  arrange- 
ments to  finance  the  work  of  missions,  or  it  must  at 
once  proceed  to  retrench  all  along  the  line. 

What  the  latter  alternative  involves  is  plain.  It  will 
mean  a  retreat  to  the  status  quo  ante  bellum,  or  even 
beyond  the  pre-war  status. 

It  will  mean  the  immediate  recall  of  scores  of  preach- 
ers, teachers,  doctors,  nurses,  and  other  workers  from 
our  mission  fields.  We  shall  perhaps  be  under  the 
necessity  of  withdrawing  entirely  from  Belgium, 
Poland,  and  Czechoslovakia,  nations  wherein  the  need 
is  pressing  and  wherein  we  have  made  wonderful  prog- 
ress. We  will  be  forced  to  abandon  Churches,  schools, 
and  hospitals  around  the  world.  In  our  home  fields  a 
similar  policy  of  abandonment  will  have  to  be  adopted. 

37 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


As  liabilities  we  have  immediately  a  debt  of  $907,- 
910.49  and  an  unfinished  Centenary  program  calling 
for  $8,161,796  unpaid  Centenary  askings. 

Over  against  this  we  have  the  sacred  and  signed 
pledges  of  honest  Methodist  people  aggregating  more 
than  $16,500,000.1 

The  Church  could,  therefore,  discount  its  assets 
nearly  50%  and  still  pay  its  missionary  debts  and  fin- 
ish its  Centenary  program,  if  its  people  could  be 
brought  to  the  fulfillment  of  their  solemnly  assumed 
obligations. 

Again,  over  and  beyond  the  payment  of  this  debt  and 
the  completion  of  the  Centenary  program,  there  is  a 
liability  of  approximately  $1,200,000  per  year  for  the 
Home  and  Foreign  Departments,  General  Work  only,  in 
maintaining  its  work  on  the  basis  to  which  it  has  been  cut 
in  the  appropriations  for  1925. 

That  is  to  say,  if  we  do  not  advance  beyond  mere 
maintenance  after  the  Centenary,  but  keep  our  missionary 
work  on  the  1925  basis  (which  basis,  we  repeat,  is 
$1,240,000  under  that  of  1924)  we  must  raise  $1,17.1,015 
in  new  money,  over  and  above  the  assessment,  to  pay  the 
actual  expenses  of  the  two  General  Work  departments. 

And  what  shall  we  balance  against  that? 

A  membership  of  two  and  a  half  million  loyal  people 
who  place  missions  above  all  other  Church  interests;  a 
prosperity  surpassing  that  of  any  people  who  have 
ever  lived  upon  this  earth;  resources  which  our  various 
appeals  have  scarcely  touched;  a  record,  newly 
achieved,  which  proves  beyond  all  cavil  that  "when  two 

lIn  keeping  our  figures  straight  it  should  be  remembered  that  while  the  Centenary 
has  received  $20,050,840.95  from  all  sources,  only  $17,931,104.04  has  actually  been  paid 
on  the  pledges;  $2,119,736.91  came  from  the  Sunday  school,  Epworth  Leagues,  interest, 
and  miscellaneous  sources. 

38 


OUR  PRESENT  SITUATION 


million  Methodists  go  from  their  knees  to  any  task,  it 
shall  be  done." 

Until  men  forget  the  Centenary  they  dare  not  say 
that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  is  unable 
to  finance  the  work  of  sending  the  gospel  to  the  utter- 
most parts. 

It  is  clear  that  our  resources  far  surpass  our  liabili- 
ties. We  are  amply  able  to  continue  our  missionary 
operations  at  the  point  of  effectiveness  to  which  they 
have  been  brought  by  the  Centenary.  There  is  no 
question  of  ability.  It  is  only  one  of  willingness,  de- 
termination, loyalty,  and  effort.  It  is  apparent  that 
unless  these  are  manifested  our  Church  must  retreat 
in  defeat  and  shame — retreat  for  the  first  time  in  its 
history. 


39 


I 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  ADVANCE  WORLD  PROGRAM 

THE  plan  by  which  the  Church  expects  to  remove 
the  present  missionary  difficulties  and  remain  in  the 
field  as  a  great  missionary  agency  is  known  as  the 
Advance  World  Program. 

It  is  a  joint  movement  of  the  Missionary  Centenary 
and  the  Board  of  Missions  to  complete  the  unfinished 
Centenary  enterprises,  to  extricate  ourselves  from  the 
embarrassment  of  indebtedness,  to  cover  the  increased 
expenses  of  our  missionary  operations,  and  to  avoid  re- 
trenchment and  maintain  our  work  on  the  plane  to  which 
it  has  been  brought  by  the  Centenary.  This  involves  two 
elements : 

1.  In  order  to  complete  the  Centenary  enterprises 
and  eliminate  our  debt  we  must  collect  enough  Cen- 
tenary money  to  pay  the  unpaid  askings  of  $8,040,- 
579.93.  Since  the  unpaid  Centenary  pledges  total 
$16,530,246,  this  appears  to  be  a  reasonable  expecta- 
tion. 

2.  In  order  to  avoid  a  withdrawal  of  a  part  of  our 
missionary  forces  and  a  retreat  from  the  advance  posi- 
tion taken  in  the  Centenary,  we  must  raise  in  new 
money  approximately  $1,200,000  annually,  over  and 
above  the  assessments.  It  will  require  this  amount  to 
meet  the  difference  between  the  annual  expenses  of  the 
Board  of  Missions,  General  Work,  and  its  regular  in- 
come from  the  assessments.  Computed  on  the  basis  of 
the  1925  appropriations,  these  expenses  are  $1,821,015 
per  year  while  the  estimated  income  from  assessments 
is  $650,000  per  year. 


40 


THE  ADVANCE  WORLD  PROGRAM 


It  is  nothing  unusual  in  Methodism  that  extra  money 
must  be  raised  to  meet  our  missionary  bills.  It  has  always 
been  done;  it  is  a  settled  policy  of  our  Church.  We  have 
never  levied  an  assessment  large  enough  to  pay  our  ex- 
penses. Even  before  the  Centenary  the  assessment  covered 
but  two-thirds  of  the  budget,  and  it  was  necessary  to  raise 
one-third  by  Specials.  Since  the  Centenary  increase  these 
figures  have  been  reversed;  today  the  assessment  pays  but 
one-third  of  the  maintenance  while  two-thirds  must  be 
raised  from  other  sources. 

In  order  to  appreciate  the  situation  as  it  is,  let  us  again 
recall  the  fact  that  the  Centenary  has  increased  the  regu- 
lar annual  operating  expenses  of  the  Board  of  Missions, 
both  General  and  Woman's  Work,  more  than  a  million 
dollars,  while  the  regular  income  has  remained  practi- 
cally static.  In  fact,  the  annual  income  of  the  Department 
of  General  Work  has  decreased  a  quarter  of  a  million 
dollars,  due  to  the  falling  off  in  collections  and  the  loss  of 
Specials. 

In  order  to  make  the  situation  still  plainer,  let  us 
rehearse  what  the  Centenary  has  brought  to  the  Board  of 
Missions — brought  and  left  on  the  door-step  of  an 
already  overburdened  Board  without  any  provision  for 
paying  the  bills : 

(1)  .  Four  new  mission  fields  with  an  operating  ex- 
pense therein  of  $325,000  per  year. 

(2)  .  Nearly  300  new  foreign  missionaries  and  workers 
and  as  many  new  home  missionaries,  involving  a  large 
additional  expenditure  for  salaries. 

(3)  .  Approximately  50  new  or  rebuilt  schools  and  col- 
leges, 12  hospitals,  300  churches  and  25  institutional 

41 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


plants  of  various  kinds,  involving  a  large  annual  expendi- 
ture for  upkeep  and  operating  expenses. 

(4)  .  A  vastly  increased  program  of  activity  in  every 
phase  of  missionary  work  at  home  and  abroad,  making 
necessary  large  increases  in  the  budget  therefor. 

(5)  .  An  increase  in  the  expenses  of  maintenance  and 
administration  of  all  departments,  both  General  Work 
and  Woman's  Work,  from  $1,698,549  in  1919  to  $2,- 
753,036  in  1925. 

*     6  * 

The  foremost  problem  now  before  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  lies  here.  No  other  cause — no 
movement  of  any  kind — compares  with  it  in  fundamental 
importance.  How  shall  we  cover  our  missionary  budget 
and  avoid  a  collapse  and  withdrawal?  Will  we  "drive 
down  our  stakes"  on  this  advance  ground  and  remain 
here?  Shall  we  "dig  in"  and  make  secure  the  salient  we 
have  won?  Or  shall  we  be  driven  back  by  our  own  in- 
difference? Shall  we  continue  in  the  work  of  extending 
the  Gospel,  or  shall  we  start  backward  now — to  end  our 
retreat  we  know  not  where? 

Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves.  Once  on  the  retreat, 
our  morale  is  broken.  Once  admit  defeat,  and  we  may 
never — certainly  not  in  this  generation — regain  the 
ground  we  give  up.  We  suffer  shamefully  in  our  pres- 
tige, influence,  and  self-esteem.  Few  worse  calamities 
could  befall  us.  In  the  history  of  Christianity  God's 
favor  has  never  rested  on  any  Church  which  has  failed 
in  its  missionary  obligation.  Without  exception,  such 
have  atrophied,  become  "hard-shells,"  been  relegated 
to  the  backwoods,  or  died  ignobly. 


42 


CHAPTER  VII 


PLAN  OF  THE  ADVANCE  WORLD  PROGRAM 


E  have  seen  that  the  Advance  World  Program  of 


our  Church  calls  for  collecting  enough  Centenary 


money  to  pay  the  unpaid  askings  of  $8,040,579.93 
and  also  the  raising  of  $1,200,000  per  year  to  meet  the 
annual  deficits  in  our  missionary  work. 

What  is  the  method  by  which  this  is  to  be  done? 

1.  So  far  as  the  first  item — the  collection  of  Centenary 
money — is  concerned,  the  task  is  simple,  though  extreme- 
ly difficult.  Methodist  people  owe  double  the  amount 
needed,  and  the  Church  assumes  that  they  will  pay  what 
they  have  promised.  The  General  Conference  has  con- 
tinued the  Centenary  Commission  with  instructions  to 
push  collections  at  least  until  May,  1926. 

In  order  to  facilitate  these  collections  and  enable 
every  Church  to  honorably  discharge  its  full  Cen- 
tenary obligation,  the  Commission  has  authorized  an 
"adjustment"  of  the  Centenary  pledge  in  all  congrega- 
tions where  difficulties  may  exist.  This  adjustment 
will  correct  errors  in  the  report  and  eliminate  all 
pledges  clearly  uncollectible,  such  as  the  pledges  of 
those  who  have  moved  away,  died  without  provision 
for  payment,  bankrupt  or  unable  to  pay,  or  repudiated 
the  obligation.  It  should  be  remembered  that  all  ad- 
justments must  be  made  by  an  accredited  representa- 
tive of  the  Centenary  Commission. 

These  adjustments  will  leave  the  "live"  pledges  and 
show  the  balance  which  clearly  can  and  should  be  paid. 
Churches  will  be  asked  to  collect  these  adjusted  balances 
before  May,  1926,  and  all  that  do  so  will  be  recognized 
as  having  honorably  discharged  their  Centenary  tasks. 


43 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 

2.  The  second  item  of  the  Advance  World  Program 
calls  for  the  raising  of  $1,200,000  annually  in  new  money. 
How  is  this  to  be  accomplished? 

All  Churches  will  be  asked  to  assume  parts,  or  shares, 
of  this  $1,200,000  in  new  money,  over  and  above  the 
regular  assessments,  to  be  paid  annually  for  an  in- 
definite period,  but  subject  to  change  or  discontinuance 
at  the  end  of  any  year  at  the  will  of  the  Church  con- 
cerned. The  money  to  pay  this  share  may  be  raised  as 
the  local  Church  sees  fit.  Neither  the  Centenary  Com- 
mission nor  the  Board  of  Missions  will  make  any 
"campaign"  in  the  local  Church  or  take  pledges  from 
the  individual  members.  These  agencies  will  deal  only 
with  the  officials  of  the  Church — the  pastor  and  board 
of  stewards — and  these  officials  will  deal  with  the 
members  as  they  see  fit. 

For  most  of  our  Churches  and  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  our  members  the  Centenary  offered  a  large  and  worthy 
missionary  objective.  It  freed  them  from  the  inadequate 
"Conference  collections"  as  a  standard  of  giving  and  gave 
them  a  standard  commensurate  with  the  needs  of  the 
world. 

At  the  present  time,  however,  many  Churches  and 
people  do  not  have  any  such  objective  because  they 
have  paid  their  Centenary  pledges  in  full.  Hundreds 
of  Churches,  thousands  of  Sunday  schools,  and  multi- 
plied thousands  of  individuals,  in  many  cases  the  most 
consecrated,  have  redeemed  their  Centenary  promises 
and  so  have  no  large  program  before  them.  Shall  these 
drop  back  to  the  old  standard,  or  shall  we  give  them 
another  objective  which  will  make  permanent  their 
Centenary  contributions? 


44 


PLAN  OF  THE  ADVANCE  WORLD  PROGRAM 


Since  1918  we  have  received  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
new  members.  Multitudes  of  members  who  were  young 
in  1918  have  since  become  self-supporting  and  able  to 
contribute  to  the  evangelization  of  the  world.  These 
have  no  large  missionary  objective  before  them.  They 
ought  certainly  to  be  enlisted  in  the  Advance  World  Pro- 
gram. 

These  are  the  groups  to  which  this  Program  should 
make  an  immediate  appeal.  They  are  asked  to  assume 
shares  to  be  paid  in  entirely  new  money,  sent  direct  to 
the  Board  of  Missions  and  to  be  devoted  wholly  to  the 
budget  of  the  Department  of  General  Work. 

4?       -55  £ 

We  have  also  a  large  group  of  Churches  and  individ- 
uals that  have  not  yet  paid  their  Centenary  pledges  in 
full.  The  Centenary  is  still  before  them  as  an  objective, 
but  diminished  in  extent  because  some  payments  have 
been  made  and  weakened  in  inspirational  value  because 
of  the  time  which  has  elapsed  since  the  subscriptions  were 
made.  These  need  and  should  have  a  larger  and  fresher 
missionary  objective,  yet  in  many  cases  they  hesitate  to 
assume  a  new  one  while  the  old  is  yet  unfulfilled. 

To  this  group  the  Advance  World  Program  also  makes 
an  appeal. 

Arrangements  have  been  made  whereby  the  unpaid 
Centenary  balance  in  any  Church  may  be  adjusted  as 
mentioned  above  and  the  adjusted  balance  then  merged 
into  the  Advance  World  Program.  In  that  event  the 
payments  on  the  Advance  World  Program  may  also  be 
credited  on  the  Centenary  balance  until  this  balance  is 
paid,  or  until  May,  1926,  after  which  all  new  money 
paid  will  go  direct  to  the  Board  of  Missions. 

Thus  any  Church  may  "kill  two  birds  with  one  stone," 
or  make  its  money  do  the  double  duty  of  participating  in 

45 


• 

THE  TASK  AHEAD 


the  Advance  World  Program  and  at  the  same  time  pay- 
ing the  remaining  Centenary  obligation. 

The  manner  of  participating  in  the  Advance  World 
Program  is  entirely  optional  with  the  Churches  them- 
selves. A  Church  may  take  a  share  separate  and  apart 
from  the  Centenary,  as  an  entirely  new  objective,  and 
make  its  payments  direct  to  the  Board  of  Missions.  In 
this  event  the  Centenary  Commission  will  continue  its 
efforts  to  collect  all  the  unpaid  Centenary  pledges  in  said 
Church  and  will  expect  its  full  cooperation  in  so  doing. 
Of  course,  such  Churches  may  have  the  full  benefit  of 
the  above  mentioned  adjustment  plan  in  regard  to  the 
Centenary  pledges  clearly  uncollectible. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  Church  may,  if  it  so  elects,  take  a 
share  in  the  Advance  World  Program  in  connection  with 
its  unpaid  Centenary  balance  and  let  its  payments  be  also 
credited  on  this  balance  until  it  is  paid. 

Churches  desiring  their  payments  on  the  Advance 
World  Program  to  be  credited  also  on  their  Centenary 
balances  will  make  their  remittances  to  the  Centenary 
Commission  until  said  balances  have  been  paid,  or  until 
May,  1926,  after  which  they  will  remit  all  new  money 
direct  to  the  Board  of  Missions.  Churches  which  desire 
no  credit  on  their  Centenary  pledges  will  remit  all  new 
money  to  the  Board  of  Missions. 

&  ^ 

The  Department  of  Woman's  Work  of  the  Board  of 
Missions  is  included  in  only  the  first  part  of  the  Advance 
World  Program  as  set  forth  in  this  volume — namely,  the 
collection  of  the  unpaid  Centenary  pledges  and  the  full 
payment  of  the  Centenary  askings.  Of  these  askings  the 
Woman's  Work  is  due  $1,283,494.39,  divided  as  follows: 

46 


THE  PLAN  OF  THE  ADVANCE  WORLD  PROGRAM 

Foreign  Department  $  916,716.16 

Home  Department    366,778.23 

The  women  do  not  share  in  the  second  element  of  the 
Advance  World  Program — namely,  the  raising  of  $1,- 
200,000  per  year  in  new  money. 

Their  need,  however,  is  quite  as  great  as  that  of  the 
Department  of  General  Work,  although  they  do  not 
face  a  large  indebtedness.  The  new  Centenary  enter- 
prises place  upon  them  the  same  burden  of  mainte- 
nance, and  in  order  to  carry  on  their  work  without 
retrenchment  it  is  equally  necessary  that  new  money 
be  secured  over  and  above  their  regular  pre-Centenary 
income.  The  women  will,  however,  raise  this  new 
money  through  their  own  channels — the  Woman's  Mis- 
sionary Council  and  the  regular  Conference,  district, 
and  local  auxiliary  organization  of  the  Woman's  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

The  women  have  definitely  launched  their  plans  for 
accomplishing  the  above  by  asking  from  their  con- 
stituency, through  these  regular  channels,  the  continu- 
ance of  such  gifts  as  were  made  during  the  Centenary 
for  the  raising  of  a  fund  to  be  known  as  the  Carry  On 
Fund. 


47 


CHAPTER  VIII 


FINANCIAL  SUMMARY 
I.  Unpaid  Centenary  Askings 

FOREIGN  DEPARTMENT,  GENERAL  WORK 

(Including  Europe  and  Siberia-Manchuria) 


Africa  $  38,000 

Belgium   275,000 

Brazil   563,731 

China    391,300 

Cuba    141,600 

Czechoslovakia    275,000 

Japan   425,000 

Korea   329,150 

Mexico    174,000 

Poland    275,000 

Siberia-Manchuria                                       .  202,152 


Total   $3,089,933 

FOREIGN  SECTION,  WOMAN'S  WORK 

Africa  $  38,500 

Brazil   202,600 

China    176,850 

Cuba   ,  .-   89,910 

Japan   116,587 

Korea   140,939 

Mexico   151,330 


Total  $  916,716 


1It  will  be  understood  that  many  figures  in  this  volume  must,  in  the  nature  of 
the  case,  be  approximate  and  subject  to  fluctuations,  changes,  and  developments  of 
every  sort.     All  Centenary  figures  are  as  6f  October  1,   1924.     Estimates  of  expense* 


and  maintenance  needs  are  on  the  basis  of  the  1925.  appropriations,  and  changes  u. 
these  appropriations  from  year  to  year  necessarily  mean  corresponding  changes  in  the 
figures  given  here. 

48 


FINANCIAL  SUMMARY 


HOME  DEPARTMENT,  GENERAL  WORK 


Army  and  Navy  $  49,700 

City  and  Industrial   219,000 

Educational    60,000 

French    41,000 

Immigrants    223,500 

Indians    10,000 

Mountains    214,000 

Negroes    262,436 

Rural   29,500 

Sustentation   149,000 


Total  $1,258,136 

HOME  SECTION,  WOMAN'S  WORK 

City  and  Industrial  $  65,000 

Educational    67,961 

French    8,213 

Immigrants    43,500 

Mountains    15,577 

Negroes    166,528 


Total  $  366,779 

II.  Increased  Annual  Maintenance 

FOREIGN  DEPARTMENT,  GENERAL  WORK 

Africa   $  44,880 

Belgium   66,572 

Brazil    107,525 

China    121,550 

Cuba    61,149 

Czechoslovakia   67,320 

Japan    143,242 

Korea    110,704 

49 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Mexico   89,012 

Poland   72,743 

Siberia-Manchuria    50,303 


Total  $  935,000 

HOME  DEPARTMENT,  GENERAL  WORK 

Army  and  Navy  $  30,000 

City  and  Industrial   75,000 

Educational      32,000 

French     10,000 

Immigrants   40,000 

Indians   10,000 

Mountains   5,000 

Negroes    15,000 

Rural   20,000 

Sustentation   25,000 


Total  $  265,000 

Summary 

UNPAID  CENTENARY  ASKINGS 

Foreign,  General  $3,089,933 

Foreign,  Woman's   916,716 

Home,  General   ...  1,258,136 

Home,  Woman's   366,779 


Total  '$5,631,564 

INCREASED  ANNUAL  MAINTENANCE — (GENERAL 

WORK  ONLY) 

Foreign  $  935,000 

Home    265,000 


Total  $1,200,000 


*Bear  in  mind  that  this  amount  is  not  the  total  due  on  all  Centenary  askings  but 
only  the  amount  due  for  missionary  operations.    The  total  due  all  causes  is  $8,040,580. 

50 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  MISSIONARY  CONSCIENCE 


HE  foregoing  pages  have  sketched  the  task  ahead 


in  financial  terms.   If  the  cash  objectives  of  the  Ad- 


vance World  Program  are  realized  our  missionary 
operations  on  the  present  scale  will  be  safe  for  the  time 
being. 

But  what  of  the  far  future?  Missions  will  be  the 
foremost  work  of  the  Church  a  hundred  years  from 
now — as  long  as  there  is  an  unsaved  soul  on  earth. 
What  will  the  Church  of  the  future  do  about  the  evan- 
gelization of  the  world? 

A  part  of  the  answer  is  at  hand — and  it  is  our  re- 
sponsibility to  the  future.  Within  the  Church  there 
must  be  cultivated  two  all-controlling  convictions, 
namely,  Christian  Stewardship  and  the  Missionary 
Spirit.  If  the  Church  realizes  that  men  are  God's 
stewards  in  the  handling  of  money  and  time  and  that 
missions  is  the  first  and  supreme  task  of  Christian 
people,  the  gates  of  hell  shall  never  prevail  against  it. 

The  task  of  cultivating  these  convictions  is  called 
Home  Cultivation.  This  is  so  fundamental  that  other 
agencies  than  the  Board  of  Missions  participate  in  it. 
The  Sunday  School  Board  and  the  Epworth  League 
Board,  dealing  with  those  who  will  constitute  the  Church 
of  tomorrow,  have  also  their  programs  of  missionary 
education. 


Home  Cultivation  sections,  with  executive  secretaries 
in  charge,  are  maintained  by  both  the  General  and  Wom- 
an's departments  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  and  the  fol- 
lowing elements  are  prominent  in  their  policy: 


51 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


1.  Missionary  Education.  As  set  forth  elsewhere  in 
this  volume,  chairs  of  home  and  foreign  missions  are 
maintained  in  our  colleges  and  universities,  summer 
schools  for  pastors  are  conducted,  and  schools  of  missions 
are  held  each  year  at  our  assemblies. 

2.  Missionary  Literature.  Vast  quantities  of  litera- 
ture are  constantly  flooding  the  Church.  The  Missionary 
Voice,  the  Young  Christian  Worker,  and  pamphlet  liter- 
ature are  informing  the  people  about  missions. 

3.  Stereopticon  Lectures.  The  message  is  visualized 
by  means  of  illustrated  lectures  on  the  various  fields. 

4.  Mission  Study.  Through  the  Church  school  of 
missions  and  the  missionary  societies,  multiplied  thou- 
sands of  our  people  are  learning  the  facts  of  missions. 

5.  Christian  Stewardship.  By  means  of  literature  the 
doctrines  of  stewardship  and  tithing  are  being  inculcated. 

6.  Bureau  of  Specials.  By  means  of  Missionary  Spe- 
cials, individuals,  Churches,  and  organizations  are  linked 
closely  to  the  fields  and  thus  give  expression  to  the  mis- 
sionary spirit. 

Missions  is  placed  in  the  curriculum  of  every  depart- 
ment of  the  Sunday  School  and  is  an  integral  part  of  the 
program  of  religious  education.  The  Sunday  School 
Board  thus  promotes  this  great  cause: 

1.  Missions  has  its  place  in  the  regular  lesson  litera- 
ture. 

2.  Elective  courses  in  missions,  occupying  at  least  one 
quarter  each  year,  are  provided  for  organized  classes. 

3.  The  fourth  Sunday  in  each  month  is  designated  as 
"Missionary  Day,"  appropriate  programs  are  provided, 

52 


THE  MISSIONARY  CONSCIENCE 

and  offerings  are  made  as  an  expressional  activity  in  the 
process  of  education. 

4.  In  the  standard  training  schools  mission  study  has 
a  prominent  place. 

5.  Missionary  Specials  in  the  Sunday  schools  and 
classes  are  encouraged. 

The  Epworth  League  Board  has  a  missionary  depart- 
ment with  an  executive  secretary  in  the  central  office 
and  corresponding  departments  in  its  conference,  district, 
and  local  organization. 

1.  Each  local  chapter  has  a  missionary  department 
and  a  monthly  missionary  meeting,  with  lesson  material 
prepared  by  the  central  office. 

2.  Mission  study  classes  are  organized  in  all  local 
Epworth  Leagues. 

3.  Mission  study  has  a  prominent  place  in  the  sum- 
mer assemblies  of  the  Epworth  League. 

4.  Life  service  volunteers  are  enlisted,  organized,  and 
developed. 

5.  Offerings  for  missions  are  made  by  the  local  Ep- 
worth League  chapters  and  the  Annual  Conference 
Epworth  League  organizations.  At  the  present  time 
these  young  people  raise  annually  $100,000  for  this 
cause. 

4£ 

With  this  united  program  of  cultivation  being  car- 
ried out  in  the  Church,  it  is  confidently  expected  that 
the  spirit  of  missions  will  develop  until  the  financial 
problems  connected  with  the  world's  evangelization 
will  be  automatically  solved. 

53 


TYPICAL  NATIVES  OF  AFRICA,  ILLUSTRATING  THE  NEED  OF  A 

CHRISTIAN  CIVILIZATION. 


54 


FOREIGN  SECTION 


AFRICA 
BELGIUM 
BRAZIL 
CHINA 
CUBA 
CZECHOSLOVAKIA 
JAPAN 
KOREA 
MEXICO 
POLAND 
SIBERIA-MANCHURIA 


TERRITORY  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 
SOUTH,  IN  AFRICA. 

(*)=Major  Centers.  ( •  )=Other  Centers 

56 


CHAPTER  X 


AFRICA 


HE  story  of  our  Mission  in  the  heart  of  the  Belgian 


Congo  is  one  of  the  romances  of  Methodist  History. 


Three  days  before  Christmas  in  1911  Bishop  W.  R. 
Lambuth)  the  great  Southern  Methodist  pathfinder,  and 
Professor  John  Wesley  Gilbert,  distinguished  leader  of 
the  Colored  Methodist  Church,  started  on  their  thousand- 
mile  trek  from  Luebo,  where  they  had  landed  two  weeks 
previously,  into  the  jungles  of  the  Dark  Continent.  Their 
caravan  stretched  one-half  a  mile  along  the  trail.  The 
noble  Gilbert  was  in  the  lead,  he  having  insisted  that 
Bishop  Lambuth  go  to  the  rear  while  he  personally 
blazed  the  trail  and  faced  the  dangers  first. 

Like  Abraham  of  old,  these  men  knew  not  their  des- 
tination, but  were  pushing  forward  under  the  leader- 
ship of  God,  confident  that  the  Spirit  would  show  them 
the  way  and  guide  them  to  the  spot  where  Methodism 
should  entrench  itself.  Passing  through  warring  vil- 
lages, crossing  rivers  and  streams,  wading  swamps, 
bitten  by  tsetse  flies,  and  exposed  to  the  terrible  jungle 
fever,  the  company  pressed  on.  The  dangers  and  dif- 
ficulties had  no  terrors  for  these  Christian  pioneers, 
who,  even  in  the  course  of  the  perilous  journey,  "went 
about  doing  good"  by  ministering  to  the  sick  natives 
they  encountered  on  the  trail. 

Nearly  six  weeks  they  were  on  the  march.  On  Thurs- 
day, February  1,  1912,  they  penetrated  to  the  very  heart 
of  the  Batetela  country  and  entered  the  village  of  the 
great  chief  Wembo-Nyama.  This  chief  was  a  pagan  sur- 
rounded by  pagans.  Their  ignorance  was  so  dense  that 


57 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


they  had  no  knowledge  of  any  written  language.  Their 
religion  was  the  fetishism  of  the  jungles.  God  and  Christ 
were  utterly  unknown  to  the  Batetelas,  for  none  had  ever 
come  before  to  bring  them  any  message  of  salvation. 

4^  ^ 

Bishop  Lambuth  was  certain  that  he  had  reached  the 
end  of  the  trail.  The  Spirit  of  God  who  led  him  bore 
witness  in  his  own  consciousness  that  this  was  so.  By 
acts  of  love  and  mercy  he  won  the  sympathy  of  the 
great  chief,  and  here,  far  from  all  the  influences  of 
Christian  civilization,  he  established  the  missionary 
work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

The  Congo  Methodist  Mission  was  officially  founded 
in  February,  1914,  when  Bishop  Lambuth,  having  re- 
turned to  America  in  the  meantime,  again  reached 
Wembo-Nyama  with  six  missionaries,  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
D.  L.  Mumpower  of  Missouri,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  D.  C.  Bush  ' 
of  Virginia,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  A.  Stockwell  of  Lou- 
isiana. By  way  of  a  beginning  foundations  were  laid  for 
a  church,  a  school,  a  hospital,  a  storehouse,  a  workshop, 
and  three  missionary  homes.  Bishop  Lambuth  organized 
a  Methodist  Church  with  twenty-three  members. 

^  ^ 

The  Methodist  missionaries  found  themselves  in  the 
heart  of  the  vastest  mission  field  on  earth.  Great 
Africa  in  its  extreme  proportions  is  six  thousand  miles 
long  and  five  thousand  miles  wide.  It  has  a  total  area 
of  twelve  million  square  miles.  It  is  nearly  four  times 
as  large  as  the  United  States. 

In  fact,  this  vast  continent  is  larger  than  the  United 
States,  China,  India,  Italy,  Germany,  France,  Norway, 
Sweden,  Argentine,  and  the  British  Isles  combined. 
This  immense  continent  is  a  mission  field  in  its  entirety. 


58 


AFRICA 

Of  course  our  missionaries  confine  themselves  to  the 
Belgian  Congo,  but  even  this  district  constitutes  an  im- 
mense field.  It  is  nearly  eleven  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
north  and  south  and  one  thousand  miles  from  east  to  west. 
It  has  an  area  of  one  million  square  miles.  Its  popula- 
tion is  nine  millions,  nearly  ninety-five  per  cent  of  whom 
are  black  natives.  Think  of  three  men  and  their  wives 
left  alone  in  the  heart  of  such  an  empire  as  this! 

4-  •  •ft  -ft 

The  vastness  of  this  mighty  continent  is  paralleled  by 
its  need.  Rightly  is  it  called  "The  Dark  Continent." 
Here  are  multiplied  millions  of  people  steeped  in  the 
grossest  superstition  and  in  an  illiteracy  that  is  total. 

St.  Paul,  in  all  of  his  missionary  wanderings,  never 
encountered  a  people  of  such  abysmal  ignorance,  so 
fettered  by  superstition,  as  these  denizens  of  Central 
Africa.  They  worship  fetishes  of  every  sort.  They 
propitiate  the  teeming  demons  by  charms  and  incanta- 
tions. 

Of  course  millions  of  them  have  never  heard  that 
Christ  came  into  the  world.  To  present  in  any  under- 
standable way  the  Christian  evangel  to  such  a  people  as 
this  constitutes  an  almost  superhuman  task.  Yet  it  was 
undertaken  by  Southern  Methodism,  and  during  the  ten 
years  which  have  elapsed  since  our  Mission  was  first 
established  among  the  Batetelas,  some  almost  unbeliev- 
able results  have  been  secured. 

What  We  Have  Today 

Methodism  is  well  entrenched  in  the  Belgian  Congo. 
Centering  its  work  at  Wembo-Nyama,  it  has  branched 
out  and  established  itself  at  Kabengele,  Tunda,  Minga, 
and  Lusambo.    These  constitute  the  major  centers  of 

59 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 

Methodist  work.  From  each  of  these  major  centers,  save 
Lusambo  which  is  largely  a  receiving  center,  the  workers 
operate  among  the  outlying  villages  and  establish  out- 
stations.  In  each  outstation  is  a  Church  and  school  in 
charge  of  one  or  more  native  workers  who  have  been 
trained  at  Wembo-Nyama.  At  the  present  time  there  are 
sixty  of  these  outstations.  This,  of  course,  means  sixty 
organized  Churches  and  the  same  number  of  schools. 

I  &  £ 

There  are  27  missionaries,  including  wives,  of  the 
Department  of  General  Work,  and  four  women  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work,  a  total 
of  31  American  workers.  We  also  have  180  native 
workers.  At  the  present  time  we  have  about  1,000 
Church  members  enrolled  in  the  stations  and  outsta- 
tions. Sunday  schools  are  conducted  at  Wembo- 
Nyama,  Minga,  and  Kabengele  and  the  average  attend- 
ance is  nearly  2,500. 

^    *  * 

A  small  hospital  with  an  American  doctor  and  a  nurse 
in  charge  is  now  operating  at  Wembo-Nyama  in  a  brick 
building  recently  erected.  The  report  of  this  hospital 
during  a  recent  quarter  showed  130  persons  admitted,  17 
major  operations,  S3  minor  operations,  and  a  total  of 
10,456  treatments  given.  Small  hospitals,  which  ^should 
rather  be  called  dispensaries,  are  also  conducted  at 
Tunda,  Kabengele,  and  Minga.  At  Tunda  an  American 
doctor  and  nurse  are  in  charge,  while  a  part-time  service 
is  given  at  Kabengele  and  Minga. 

Great  emphasis  is  placed  upon  educational  work  in 
the  Congo.  It  was  necessary  to  create  an  alphabet  and  a 
written  language  for  the  Batetelas,  and  they  knew  abso- 
lutely nothing  of  industrial  art.  The  first  few  years  were 
devoted  to  preparing  simple  text  books  and  teaching  a 

60 


AFRICA 


few  selected  natives  some  elementary  principles.  Once 
trained,  these  natives  were  sent  out  to  the  villages  to  take 
charge  of  the  Churches  and  schools  of  the  outstations. 

In  addition  to  the  60  outstation  schools,  three  other 
educational  institutions  are  in  operation  at  Wembo- 
Nyama.  One  of  these  is  an  industrial  school  which 
teaches  the  natives  the  simpler  forms  of  carpentry, 
cabinet-making,  and  agriculture.  Another  is  a  boys' 
boarding  school,  which  receives  boys  from  outlying  vil- 
lages and  trains  them  to  become  native  Christian 
workers.  A  third  is  a  girls'  boarding  school  operated 
by  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work  of  the  Board  of 
Missions,  which  renders  a  similar  service  to  the  girk. 

*       *  -35 

The  Woman's  Work  in  the  Congo  is  widespread  and 
efficient.  The  women  have  sent  out  ten  missionaries,  and 
six  of  these  have  married  the  missionaries  of  the  General 
Department.  It  has  been  impossible  to  build  up  a  con- 
structive program  of  Woman's  Work  as  on  other  fields, 
because  of  the  lack  of  workers. 

The  women  at  the  present  time  have  a  missionary  home 
and  a  girls'  home  and  school  at  Wembo-Nyama.  The 
work  for  women  and  girls  has  been  carried  on  along 
three  lines:  Medical  work,  by  sharing  in  the  support  of 
the  hospital  at  Wembo-Nyama;  educational  work  at 
Tunda,  Minga,  and  Kabengele;  and  evangelistic  work, 
by  holding  women's  classes,  organizing  missionary  so- 
cieties, and  helping  in  Churches  and  Sunday  schools. 

The  Mission  operates  a  simple  printing  plant  at  Kab- 
engele, producing  here  the  primers  which  are  used  in  the 
various  schools.  At  Wembo-Nyama  there  is  a  mission 
store  which  sells  supplies  to  the  natives,  and  this  store  is 
one  of  the  most  valuable  institutions  of  the  Mission.  A 


61 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


steamboat,  "The  Texas,"  is  now  operating  on  the  Lubefu 
and  Sankuru  Rivers.  This  steamboat  was  given  by  the 
Epworth  Leaguers  of  the  state  of  Texas,  and  serves  to 
eliminate  the  necessity  of  walking  and  carrying  supplies 
over  a  distance  of  nearly  two  hundred  miles. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

The  Centenary  meant  much  to  Africa,  as  it  did  to 
every  field.  More  than  $125,000  has  already  been  spent 
for  the  redemption  of  the  people.  Of  the  31  mission- 
aries and  wives  now  on  the  field,  28  were  sent  out 
during  the  Centenary  period  and  with  the  Centenary 
funds.  The  Centenary  has  built  the  hospital,  estab- 
lished the  boarding  schools,  sent  the  steamboat 
"Texas,"  and  advanced  the  work  in  every  line  of  effort. 

But  the  Centenary  has  a  great  task  in  Africa  yet  un- 
done. Askings  in  the  total  sum  of  $76,500  remain  unpaid, 
and  without  this  the  field  is  "marking  time,"  patiently 
waiting  for  the  subscribers  to  redeem  their  pledges.  The 
unpaid  askings  are  divided  as  follows : 

General  Work  $38,000 

Woman's  Work   38,500 

When  realized,  the  $38,000  due  the  Department  of 
General  Work  will  be  used  to  finish  the  enterprises 
projected  and  to  pay  the  costs  of  operation.  Two  new 
doctors  are  needed  for  the  dispensaries  at  Kabengele  and 
Minga.  Two  new  industrial  missionaries  are  likewise  in 
demand.  To  press  forward  in  the  work  of  evangelism 
and  teaching  it  will  be  necessary  to  send  out  two  or  three 
additional  preachers  and  teachers. 

Of  course  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  self-support 
in  the  Congo,  although  each  member  of  our  Church  must 
become  a  tither;  the  incomes  are  so  meager,  when  inter- 
preted in  terms  of  money,  as  to  be  negligible. 

62 


AFRICA 


So  far  as  the  Woman's  Work  is  concerned  the  unfin- 
ished Centenary  task  is  fairly  well  defined.    It  may  be 


summarized  as  follows: 

Missionaries — Salaries  and  Travel  $12,285 

New  Missionaries — Outfit  and  Travel   7,600 

Increased  Maintenance   15,615 

Two  homes  for  African  girls   1,000 

Two  missionary  homes.   2,000 


>    Total  $38,500 


*    *  * 

But  after  the  Centenary  task  is  completed  there  remains 
the  problem  of  maintenance.  The  advance  during  these 
years  has  been  so  great  that  it  could  by  no  means  be  sup- 
ported on  the  old  income.  In  1919  the  expenses  of  operat- 
ing the  Congo  Mission  was  $16,310.  In  1925  the  same 
expenses  are  $54,500.  When  we  remember  that  during 
this  period  the  income  of  the  Foreign  Department, 
General  Work,  apart  from  the  Centenary,  has  decreased 
a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars  a  year,  we  see  how  impera- 
tive it  is  that  new  money  be  secured.  Otherwise  our 
African  work  must  be  greatly  curtailed. 

The  regular  income  of  the  Foreign  Department,  Gen- 
eral Work,  from  the  assessment  cannot  pay  20  per  cent 
of  the  expense.  Of  the  $54,500  needed  for  Africa,  only 
about  $9,620  will  be  thus  realized.  The  deficit  of  $44,880 
must  come  from  the  Advance  World  Program. 


Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Africa,  General  $38,000 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Africa,  Women   38,500 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   44,880 


63 


64 


CHAPTER  XI 


BELGIUM 


HE  little  land  of  Belgium  has  been  the  battlefield 


of  the  nations.  Centuries  ago  the  great  Caesar  de- 


clared the  Belgians  to  be  the  bravest  of  all  people. 
Across  the  soil  of  this  little  state  have  tramped  the  armies 
of  many  lands  through  the  centuries,  and  few  nations 
have  figured  more  prominently  in  the  world's  history. 

When,  in  1914,  the  guaranteed  neutrality  of  Belgium 
was  violated  by  one  of  the  very  powers  that  guaran- 
teed it,  all  Europe  flew  to  arms,  and  in  the  mightiest 
and  bloodiest  of  all  wars  the  Belgians  acquitted  them- 
selves like  men.  With  every  inch  of  her  territory 
occupied  by  a  foreign  foe,  with  her  industries  de- 
stroyed, her  king  and  government  exiled,  and  her 
people  deported  and  forced  to  labor  behind  the  enemy's 
lines,  Belgium  yet  held  her  head  erect.  She  lost  every- 
thing but  her  honor. 


Belgium  is  small  in  territory.  Its  greatest  length  is 
only  165  miles,  while  its  greatest  breadth  is  120  miles.  It 
has  an  area  of  only  11,400  square  miles.  Its  population, 
however,  is  about  8,000,000,  this  being  the  densest  in 
Europe. 


Belgium's  population  is  composed  of  two  distinct  races; 
the  Flemish,  who  are  of  German  extraction,  and  the 
Walloons,  who  are  allied  to  the  French.  The  Flemish, 
who  are  more  numerous,  occupy  the  northern  part  of  the 
country,  and  their  language  is  Flemish,  which  is  a  Ger- 
man dialect.  The  Walloons  occupy  the  south  and  speak 
French. 


65 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 

Most  of  the  people  who  admit  any  religious  affiliation 
are,  of  course,  Roman  Catholics,  but  since  religious  statis- 
tics are  not  included  in  the  census,  no  reliable  numbers 
can  be  given.  It  is  significant,  however,  that  in  1920 
there  were  six  thousand  Roman  Catholic  priests  and 
about  25,000  monks  and  nuns.  Protestant  pastors  num- 
bered only  21. 

Underneath  this  thick  layer  of  Roman  Catholicism, 
however,  there  slumbers  a  spirit  of  freedom  and  lib- 
erty which  constitutes  a  fertile  field  for  Protestant 
effort.  In  fact  Belgium  was  at  one  time  Protestant, 
or  at  least  on  the  verge  of  becoming  so.  She  welcomed 
the  Reformation  and  seemed  on  the  eve  of  being  en- 
tirely gained  by  it.  Belgium  furnished  the  first  two 
martyrs  of  the  Reformation  in  the  persons  of  John 
Voes  and  Henry  Van  Esschen,  who  were  burned  at  the 
stake  in  1523  and  whose  devotion  was  celebrated  in  a 
hymn  by  Luther.  The  Reformation  spirit  bade  fair  to 
sweep  the  land;  audiences  of  20,000  gathered  in  Ant- 
werp and  elsewhere  to  hear  the  messages  of  the  Re- 
formers. Two-thirds  of  the  Flemish  population  were 
gained  for  the  Reformation. 

*   *  * 

Then  Rome  tried  persecution.  A  special  Tribunal 
of  the  Spanish  Inquisition  was  set  up,  and  the  in- 
famous Duke  of  Alva  set  about  the  task  of  exterminat- 
ing the  Protestants.  It  is  estimated  that  100,000  people 
were  victims  of  the  Inquisition  and  Alva  boasted  that 
he  had  executed  more  than  18,000.  The  believers  were 
killed,  driven  out,  or  silenced.  Persecution  here,  as  in 
no  other  place  in  the  world,  succeeded.  Belgium 
turned  from  the  Reformation  and  bfecame  content  to 
remain  Catholic. 


66 


BELGIUM 


But  Roman  Catholicism  in  Belgium  is  largely  a  veneer 
and  a  formality,  as  it  is  in  France  and  Italy.  Nearly  half 
of  the  people  have  forsaken  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
But  the  decline  of  Catholicism  does  not  mean  the  growth 
of  Protestantism.  People  leaving  Rome  do  not  go  to  the 
fold  of  the  Protestant  Church.  Rather  do  they  become 
agnostics  or  atheistic  socialists,  so  that  the  last  state  is 
worse  than  the  first. 

This  is  the  situation  which  threatens  continental 
Europe.  In  Belgium,  France,  and  Italy  atheism  is 
growing  more  rapidly  than  Protestantism.  The  rea- 
son for  this  is  plain.  The  people  have  no  adequate 
conception  of  what  Protestantism  means.  They  know 
it  only  in  the  uninfluential  and  weak  Protestant 
branches  which  have  lingered  among  them  as  vestiges 
of  the  Reformation,  and  in  this  form  it  fails  to  make 
an  appeal  to  the  strong  intellectual  and  spiritual  na- 
tures of  the  people. 

Here  is  a  situation  which  constitutes  an  imperative  call 
to  American  Protestantism.  We  alone  are  in  a  position  to 
adequately  interpret  the  finer  values  and  more  aggressive 
program  of  the  Protestant  Church  to  continental  peoples. 
Unless  we  win  them  the  drift  away  from  Rome  into 
atheism  will  continue  until  the  European  continent  be- 
comes a  great  mass  of  cultured  but  Godless  infidelity.  If 
the  continent  is  lost  to  religion  so  may  also  be  lost  the 
vast  reaches  of  the  world  wherein  these  nations  are  so 
influential. 

*    *  * 

Immediately  after  the  Centenary  Campaign,  in  1920, 
a  special  commission  of  our  Church  began  a  ministry 
of  relief,  and  in  August,  1922,  this  relief  work  crystal- 
lized into  an  organized  Mission,  the  first  session  of 

67 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


which  met  under  the  presidency  of  Bishop  W.  B.  Beau- 
champ,  who  received  into  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  the  first  members  in  Belgium.  Since 
that  time  the  growth  of  this  Mission  has  been  constant. 

What  We  Have  in  Belgium 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  carries  on  a  ^ 
widespread  activity  all  over  Belgium.  Its  evangelistic 
work  is  in  both  the  French  and  Flemish  tongues,  with 
English-speaking  congregations  in  Brussels,  Boitsfort, 
and  Stockel.  We  publish  our  own  literature.  Nine  col- 
porteurs are  employed  in  the  distribution  of  Christian 
literature,  and  in  one  year  they  sold  1,355  Bibles,  2,000 
New  Testaments,  10,750  parts  of  Gospels,  and  5,300 
copies  of  the  "Life  of  Jesus." 

The  influence  of  Methodism  is  tremendous,  even 
though  the  actual  membership  as  yet  remains  compara- 
tively small,  about  600,  with  an  equal  number  of  proba- 
tioners. Our  20  Sunday  schools  enroll  600  boys  and  girls. 
The  following  is  a  general  view  of  all  our  work: 

1.  Major  centers:  Brussels,  Herstal,  Dunkirk,  Ant- 
werp, Ypres,  Malines. 

2.  A  great  Central  Building  at  Brussels,  containing 
offices,  an  English  Night  School,  a  Bible  and  Evangelis- 
tic School,  an  English-speaking  Church,  a  French-speak- 
ing Church,  offices  of  administration,  and  headquarters 
for  publication,  colportage,  and  evangelistic  work. 

3.  "Les  Marronniers,"  the  only  Protestant  girls'  school 
in  that  section  of  Europe.  It  has  beautiful  property  at 
Uccle,  a  suburb  of  Brussels,  2  American  and  9  Belgian 
teachers,  and  an  enrollment  of  100  girls. 

4.  An  orphanage  at  Brussels,  wherein  are  50  children 
being  trained  in  Protestant  Christianity. 

5.  A  share  in  a  Union  Protestant  Hospital  at  Brussels. 

68 


BELGIUM 


6.  An  English  Night  School  at  Herstal;  a  French 
School  at  Molenbeek;  a  Flemish  School  at  Molenbeek; 
a  Social  Center  at  Molenbeek. 

7.  A  Mission  for  Sailors  at  Antwerp. 

8.  Twelve  pastoral  charges  and  preaching  places  in 
the  following  cities  and  towns:  Brussels  (French,  Flem- 
ish and  English)  ;  Uccle  (French)  ;  Molenbeek  (French 
and  Flemish)  ;  Antwerp  (French  and  Flemish)  ;  Herstal 
(French)  ;  Dunkirk  (French  and  Flemish)  ;  Aerschat 
(Flemish)  ;  Diest  (Flemish)  ;  Boitsfort  (French  and 
English)  ;  Ypres  (French  and  Flemish)  ;  Malines  (Flem- 
ish) ;  Comines  (French)  ;  Wevelghem  (Flemish)  ;  Ghlin 
(French)  ;  Ecausines  (French)  ;  Hoboken  (French  and 
Flemish)  ;  Stockel  (French  and  English). 

The  Advance  World  Program 

The  amount  remaining  unpaid  on  the  Centenary  ask- 
ings for  Belgium  is  $275,000.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
this  new  field  is  exclusively  a  Centenary  enterprise  and 
receives  absolutely  no  money  from  any  other  source.  We 
have  purchased  so  advantageously  that  we  shall  not  need 
to  increase  our  investment  in  buildings.  But  mainte- 
nance and  miscellaneous  items  will  require  all  of  the 
unpaid  sum. 

4& 

Belgium  is  supported  wholly  by  the  Centenary.  When 
Centenary  funds  are  no  longer  available,  only  an  insig- 
nificant amount  could  be  expected  from  the  regular  in- 
come. If  our  work  in  Belgium  is  to  be  continued  $66,572 
annually  must  be  secured  for  this  needy  field. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Belgium,  General  $275,000 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   66,572 

69 


TERRITORY  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 
SOUTH,  IN  BRAZIL, 

(*)=Major  Centers.  (.)=Other  Centers 

70 


CHAPTER  XII 


BRAZIL 

BRAZIL  is  the  largest  country  of  South  America  ana 
one  of  the  really  great  nations  of  the  world.  It  is 
larger  in  area  than  the  United  States,  exclusive  of 
Alaska.  It  has  3,301,350  square  miles  of  territory  and  a 
coast  line  over  four  thousand  miles  long.  Brazil  touches 
every  other  country  in  South  America  except  Chile  and 
Ecuador. 

This  great  country  was  discovered  in  1500  by  a  com- 
panion of  Columbus,  who  made  no  settlement.  The  same 
year,  however,  it  was  also  discovered  by  the  Portugese 
Admiral  Pedro  Alvares  Cabral,  who  claimed  it  in  the 
name  of  Portugal.  It  has  remained  Portugese  in  lan- 
guage and  general  characteristics  ever  since.  Though 
proclaimed  independent  in  1822,  its  king  was  the  son  of 
the  Portugese  ruler.  Brazil  became  a  republic  under  the 
title  of  the  United  States  of  Brazil  as  a  result  of  a  revo- 
lution in  November,  1889. 

The  country  is  divided  into  twenty-two  states  and  has  a 
population  of  approximately  31,000,000  people. 

*    *  * 

These  people  are  conglomerate.  There  are  the  native 
white  people,  descendants  of  the  Portugese  settlers. 
There  are  also  large  numbers  of  Negroes,  descendants 
of  African  slaves.  In  the  interior  of  the  vast  and  un- 
explored Amazon  country  are  still  to  be  found  nearly 
a  million  aborigines  or  Indians.  In  many  cases  these 
various  elements  of  the  population  have  cohabited  and 
intermarried  and  thus  produced  a  mongrel  race. 


71 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Nearly  the  entire  population  of  the  Republic  of  Brazil 
is  still  found  on  a  comparatively  narrow  strip  of  land 
along  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  white  people  have  clung 
to  the  fringe  of  the  continent.  In  the  interior  of  Brazil 
the  population  will  average  not  more  than  one  or  two 
inhabitants  to  the  square  mile.  In  fact,  people  do  not 
know  what  is  in  the  interior  of  the  Amazon  territory. 
Here  is  an  area  of  nearly  three  quarters  of  a  million 
square  miles  of  fertile  and  habitable  yet  unimproved  and 
largely  unexplored  territory. 

9    ■  .9  9 

The  needs  of  mighty  Brazil  are  very  great.  Roman 
Catholicism  of  the  Latin  type  is  supreme  and,  as 
always  among  illiterate  and  backward  people,  this 
means  superstition,  ignorance,  and  extortion.  The 
state  of  the  common  people  is  pathetic  in  the  extreme. 
They  call  loudly  for  enlightenment  and  help.  There 
are  few  places  in  the  world  wherein  Protestantism  has 
a  clearer  duty  or  a  greater  opportunity. 

"N^ 

The  first  work  of  Methodists  in  Brazil  is  closely  iden- 
tified with  Methodism  in  the  South.  Before  the  separa- 
tion of  the  Northern  and  Southern  branches  of  the 
Church,  in  1836,  Fountain  E.  Pitts,  of  Tennessee,  was  sent 
to  South  America  to  investigate  religious  conditions.  He 
organized  the  foreigners  from  Protestant  lands  into  a  con- 
gregation, and  upon  returning  recommended  that  the 
Board  of  Missions  send  missionaries  to  Brazil. 

The  following  year,  the  Rev.  Justin  Spaulding  was 
sent  out,  followed  by  the  Rev.  P.  D.  Kidder  in  1838. 
Although  Mr.  Spaulding  preached  entirely  to  the  for- 
eigners, Mr.  Kidder,  who  knew  Portugese,  worked 
among  the  native  Brazilians.   He  was  the  first  Protestant 

72 


BRAZIL 


to  preach  along  the  borders  of  the  Amazon,  and  he 
preached  the  first  Protestant  sermon  ever  delivered  in  the 
city  of  Sao  Paulo. 

The  establishment  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  in  Brazil  dates  from  the  arrival  in  that  land  of  the 
Rev.  John  J.  Ransom,  February  2,  1876.  After  a  year's 
study  of  Portugese  Dr.  Ransom  began  evangelistic  work. 
At  the  end  of  1 877,  the  mission  in  Rio  de  Janeiro  reported 
42  members,  only  one  of  whom,  however,  was  a  native 
Brazilian. 

Numerically,  the  Brazil  conference  was  the  smallest 
ever  organized.  It  was  organized  in  1886  with  three 
members,  all  of  whom  are  still  living:  Rev.  H.  C. 
Tucker,  of  Tennessee,  Rev.  J.  L.  Kennedy,  of  Tennes- 
see, and  Rev.  J.  W.  Tarboux,  of  South  Carolina. 

The  women  of  Southern  Methodism  began  work  in 
Brazil  in  1879,  this  being  the  second  field  entered  by 
them.  This  year  they  made  an  appropriation  of  $500.00 
to  a  little  girls'  school  in  Piracicaba  that  had  been  opened 
by  Rev.  J.  W.  Newman  and  taught  by  his  daughter,  who 
later  became  Mrs.  J.  J.  Ransom.  Miss  Martha  Hite 
Watts,  of  Louisville,  Kentucky,  sailed  for  Brazil  in  1881, 
the  pioneer  woman  missionary  to  this  field. 

4s    4^  ^ 

In  fifty  years  Brazilian  Methodism  has  grown  into 
three  Annual  Conferences  with  a  membership  of  16,- 
000.  These  annually  contribute  more  than  $140,000  for 
all  causes.  The  three  conferences  are :  Brazil,  includ- 
ing the  states  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Minas;  Central 
Brazil,  including  the  state  of  Sao  Paulo ;  South  Brazil, 


73 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


divided  from  the  other  two  by  two  large  states  and 
practically  covering  the  state  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul, 
which  forms  the  extreme  southern  tip  of  the  country. 

We  have  wrought  well;  we  have  reclaimed  thou- 
sands from  misery,  ignorance,  superstition,  and  sin. 
Yet  the  bigness  of  the  remaining  task  challenges  us 
to  still  more  heroic  endeavour  in  Christ's  name. 

What  We  Have  in  Brazil 

As  stated  above,  the  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  now  covers  four  of  the  important  states 
of  Brazil,  and  is  divided  into  three  full-fledged  Annual 
Conferences  and  a  total  of  14  presiding  elders'  districts. 
Several  of  these  presiding  elders  are  native  preachers 
who  have  been  converted  and  trained  by  our  missionaries. 

We  have  in  Brazil  at  the  present  time  77  mission- 
aries, including  wives.  Of  these  56  are  maintained  by 
the  Department  of  General  Work,  while  21  are  sup- 
ported by  the  Woman's  Work.  Assisting  these  are  68 
native  preachers  and  approximately  200  native  teach- 
ers and  other  workers.  This  gives  us  a  large  force  in 
the  three  conferences  of  Brazil. 

Disregarding  Conference  lines,  we  have  in  Brazil  100 
pastoral  charges  and  130  organized  Churches.  Our 
Church  members  number  approximately  16,000.  There 
are  230  Sunday  schools  enrolling  13,000  pupils,  and  100 
Epworth  Leagues  with  3,500  members. 

Our  Churches  are  located  in  the  most  important  centers 
of  Brazil.  We  have  occupied  125  of  the  leading  cities, 
towns,  and  villages  in  our  territory  and  are  pressing  the 
work  of  evangelism  in  the  rural  sections. 

74 


BRAZIL 


The  educational  system  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  covers  like  a  blanket  the  states  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  Minas,  Sao  Paulo,  and  Rio  Grande  do  Sul.  The 
institutions  are  conducted  by  both  the  Department  of 
General  Work  and  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work. 
The  following  are  the  schools  of  the  General  Work  De- 
partment : 

1.  People's  Central  Institute  in  the  heart  of  the  grea* 
metropolis  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  This  institution  operates 
a  day  and  night  school  and  a  dental  clinic.  It  has  one 
American  and  eight  Brazilian  teachers,  with  an  enroll- 
ment of  370  students.  Its  property  is  worth  about 
$75,000.  The  women  cooperate  with  the  General  Depart- 
ment in  evangelistic  and  educational  work  for  women  and 
girls,  maintaining  here  Case  Cottage,  a  home  for  women 
missionaries  which  is  valued  at  $8,000. 

2.  Granbery  College  at  Juiz  de  Fora.  The  college  has 
eleven  buildings  worth  $175,000,  four  American  and 
sixteen  Brazilian  teachers  and  350  students. 

3.  Union  Seminary,  Rio  de  Janeiro.  This  is  a  theologi- 
cal training  school  conducted  by  various  denominations 
in  the  buildings  of  Central  Institute.  We  have  two  rep- 
resentatives on  the  faculty. 

4.  Moore  Institute,  Campinas.  This  institution  is 
named  for  Bishop  John  M.  Moore  and  is  a  Centenary 
enterprise.  The  foundation  has  been  laid  and  some 
work  has  been  done  on  the  walls,  but  because  the  Cen- 
tenary pledges  have  not  been  paid,  work  has  been 
stopped  and  the  basement  roofed  over.  A  small  day- 
school  is  now  being  conducted.  The  institution  will  be 
completed  when  the  Centenary  money  is  available. 

5.  Porto  Alegre  College  at  Porto  Alegre.  This  is  an 
important  institution  with  a  valuable  building.  Three 
American  and  several  native  teachers  are  employed. 

75 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


6.  Union  College,  Uruguayana.  This  building  is  val- 
ued at  $50,000.  There  are  two  American  and  seven 
Brazilian  teachers  and  135  students  are  in  attendance. 

7.  Instituto  Gymnasial,  Passo  Fundo.  This  school  has 
two  valuable  buildings  and  enrolls  about  190  students. 

8.  Day  Schools.  Twenty-five  day  schools  are  main- 
tained in  various  Brazilian  cities.  These  are  for  the  most 
part  conducted  in  connection  with  the  Churches.  About 
fifty-five  teachers  are  engaged  in  the  training  of  1,100 
pupils. 

9  -£ 

In  addition  to  the  Churches  and  schools  above  men- 
tioned, our  Church  operates  three  other  institutions  in 
Brazil. 

1.  A  Union  Hospital  is  maintained  in  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
We  have  a  small  share  in  this  in  cooperation  with  other 
denominations. 

2.  The  Imprensa  Methodista  at  Sao  Paulo  is  our 
great  publishing  house  which  was  erected  by  the  Cen- 
tenary at  a  cost  of  more  than  $100,000.  This  is  the 
best  institution  of  its  kind  in  Brazil  and  is  flooding 
that  country  with  Christian  literature.  It  publishes 
the  Sunday  school  literature  for  all  of  the  Protestant 
Churches  in  Brazil  except  the  Baptist.  It  publishes 
also  "The  Christian  Expositor,"  the  official  organ  of 
our  Church,  and  the  Quarterly  Review,  which  repre- 
sents all  Protestantism.  The  women  cooperate  with 
the  Department  of  General  Work  in  this  publishing 
house,  assigning  a  missionary  to  the  publication  of  a 
children's  magazine  and  a  full  line  of  literature  for 
the  women. 

3.  Institutional  Church,  Porto  Alegre.  This  is  a  co- 
operative effort  on  the  part  of  both  Departments.  Good 

76 


BRAZIL 


property  is  owned  and  a  large  evangelistic  and  educa- 
tional program  is  being  carried  out. 

The  work  of  the  women  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  in  Brazil  is  largely,  though  not  exclu- 
sively, confined  to  the  education  of  girls.  In  addition  to 
their  cooperation  with  the  General  Department  in  the 
People's  Central  Institute  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  as  mentioned 
above,  the  women  maintain  several  institutions  outright. 
Thev  are  as  follows : 

1.  Bennett  College,  Rio  de  Janeiro.  This  is  a  board- 
ing school  for  girls  founded  in  1921  and  named  for  the 
sainted  Miss  Belle  Bennett.  It  is  of  High  School  grade 
and  specializes  in  teacher-training.  It  employs  five 
missionaries  and  thirteen  Brazilian  teachers,  and  has 
an  enrollment  of  160.  A  substantial  plant  has  been 
started,  but  work  thereon  has  been  halted  because  the 
Centenary  pledges  have  not  all  been  paid. 

2.  Collegio  Isabella  Hendrix,  Bello  Horizonte.  This 
boarding  school  for  girls  was  founded  in  1904.  It  has  a 
splendid  plant  but  is  due  another  building  from  the  Cen- 
tenary. 

3.  Collegio  Piracicabano,  Piracicaba.  This  is  the 
oldest  Methodist  girls'  school  in  Brazil.  It  was  founded 
in  1881.  It  has  good  property  but  is  waiting  Centenary 
funds  for  further  development.  Four  American  and 
eighteen  Brazilian  teachers  are  employed  and  360  stu- 
dents are  enrolled. 

4.  Collegio  Methodista,  Ribeirao  Preto.  This  substan- 
tial institution  is  now  twenty-five  years  old.  It  enrolls 
175  girls  and  employs  four  American  and  ten  Brazilian 
teachers.    It  is  due  another  dormitory. 

77 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


5.  Collegio  Centenario,  Santa  Maria.  This  is  another 
Centenary  institution  erected  with  Centenary  funds  in 
1921.  Though  young,  it  already  enrolls  140  students  and 
has  three  missionaries  and  thirteen  native  teachers. 

6.  Collegio  Americano,  Porto  Alegre.  Founded  in 
1901,  this  school  has  rendered  a  large  service.  Its  attend- 
ance is  199.  Its  new  $100,000  plant  was  built  with  the 
first  Centenary  money  expended  in  Brazil. 

Advance  World  Program 

The  unpaid  Centenary  askings  for  Brazil,  General 
Work,  total  $563,731.  On  account  of  fluctuating  costs  and 
the  intricacies  of  administration  it  is  scarcely  possible  to 
strictly  apportion  this  sum  to  definite  objects.  Moore 
College  and  Granbery  College  must  be  completed  at 
once. 

£    «  « 

In  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work,  the  following 
items  remain  unpaid  in  the  Centenary  program  for 


Brazil : 

Missionaries — Salaries   $  8,558 

New  Missionaries — Travel,  outfit,  language  and 

'    study   2,600 

Bennett  College: 

Rent   2,195 

Equipment   '   1,500 

Land  and  building   88,697 

Collegio  Piracicabano — new  building   42,570 

Christian  Literature    1,700 

Collegio  Centenario — maintenance  .  .   4,780 

Increase  maintenance  and  building   50,000 


Total  $202,600 

"^fc 


But  after  the  Centenary — What?  Granted  that  the 
unpaid  askings  are  met  in  full,  how  shall  we  maintain  our 

78 


BRAZIL 


work  when  these  funds  are  no  longer  available?  This  is  a 
pressing  and  serious  problem. 

In  1919  our  expenses  in  Brazil  were  $88,765.  In  1925 
they  are  $134,537.  With  our  assessment  income  far  below 
that  of  1919,  how  shall  the  deficit  be  met?  Unless  they 
are  met  by  the  Advance  World  Program  a  withdrawal 
and  retrenchment  must  at  once  begin.  To  avoid  this  and 
save  our  work  we  must  have  $107,525  in  new  money  each 
year.  This  provides  for  no  advance,  but  only  for  main- 
tenance at  the  1925  status.  We  shall  need  some  new 
workers,  but  the  Brazilian  Church  proposes  to  diminish 
the  amount  received  from  the  Board  of  Missions  one- 
sixth  each  year,  and  this  leeway  is  expected  to  provide  the 
extra  missionaries  necessary. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Brazil,  General . 
Unpaid  Centenary  for  Brazil,  Women. 
Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General 


$563,731 
202,600 
107,525 


79 


CHINA 


TERRITORY  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 
SOUTH,  IN  CHINA. 

(*)=Major  Centers.  ( •  )=Other  Centers 


80 


CHAPTER  XIII 
CHINA 

IT  has  been  said  that  China  is  a  land  of  unchallenged 
superlatives.   It  has  an  area  of  nearly  four  and  a  half 
million  square  miles,  much  larger  than  the  United 
States.    Its  people  number  more  than  400,000,000,  one- 
fourth  of  the  population  of  the  whole  earth. 

These  people  are  homogeneous.  They  are  never 
amalgamated.  Scattered  among  other  peoples  they 
never  lose  their  racial  characteristics.  They  absorb 
others,  but  themselves  are  never  absorbed. 

China  is  the  oldest  nation  of  the  earth.  Full  fifty 
centuries  she  has  lived.  China  was  older  when  Christ 
was  born  than  any  other  nation  that  now  exists. 

^  * 

With  such  an  area,  with  such  a  population,  we  can 
scarcely  imagine  the  place  which  China  will  occupy  in 
future  history.  She  has  been  asleep  for  many  cen- 
turies but  is  now  rousing  herself.  Modern  civilization 
is  gradually  penetrating  this  great  Republic.  Give 
China  a  modern  industrial  equipment  and  she  will  be 
the  commercial  superior  of  most  of  the  nations  of  the 
world.  Give  her  a  modern  military  equipment  and  she 
would  menace  the  whole  earth. 

China  has  less  than  ten  thousand  miles  of  railroad, 
while  the  United  States,  though  only  two-thirds  as 
large,  has  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  miles.  Out- 
side of  the  great  cities,  and  even  within  them,  modern 
sanitation  is  unknown.  While  the  annual  death-rate 
in  the  United  States  is  fourteen  to  the  thousand,  in 
China  it  is  above  fifty. 


81 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


China  has  only  a  thousand  modern  doctors  for  her 
four  hundred  million  people,  and  at  least  a  third  of 
these  are  missionary  doctors.  Think  of  one  doctor 
being  responsible  for  400,000  people !  At  that  rate  only 
sixteen  cities  in  the  United  States  would  be  entitled  to 
the  full-time  service  of  a  doctor,  and  not  one  of  these 
cities  in  the  South ! 

China  has  a  million  blind  people  and  400,000  deaf. 
We  do  not  know  how  many  lepers  and  insane  she  has. 
The  doctors  can  care  for  only  1%  of  the  sick  people, 
leaving  99%  without  competent  medical  attention. 


1  Missionaries  have  introduced  modern  education  in 
China,  but  as  yet  it  has  made  small  headway.  It  is 
estimated  that  95%  of  the  people  are  unable  to  read  or 
write  a  word  of  any  language.  Only  2%  of  the  women 
can  read.  It  is  estimated  that  only  6%  of  the  children 
of  school  age  attend  school. 

China's  greatest  need  is  a  religious  need.  The  multi- 
tudes are  heathen.  Three  great  heathen  religions  control 
this  land:  Confucianism,  Buddhism,  and  Taoism.  The 
bulk  of  the  people  are  Buddhists.  Ancestor  worship  pre- 
vails everywhere  throughout  China.  There  are  perhaps 
ten  million  Mohammendans  in  the  Republic. 

^£ 

After  the  division  of  Methodism  in  1844  no  missionary 
work  outside  the  United  States  was  left  to  the  Southern 
branch.  In  1846,  however,  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  projected  its  work 
in  China  and  in  1848  Rev.  Charles  Taylor  and  Rev. 
Benjamin  Jenkins,  both  of  South  Carolina,  set  sail.  The 
imperial  decree  prohibiting  Christianity  had  been  par- 

82 


CHINA 


tially  repealed  four  years  previously,  but  it  was  nearly 
two  years  after  their  arrival  before  their  first  service  was 
held  in  Shanghai. 

Results  were  difficult  and  meager.  The  solid  block 
of  heathenism  showed  few  signs  of  yielding.  Our  mis- 
sionaries lived  in  the  midst  of  superstition,  persecu- 
tion, and  danger.  During  the  Tai-Ping  rebellion  of 
1853  one  missionary  stood  his  ground  and  protected 
the  Mission  property.  In  1861,  when  the  Civil  War  in 
America  cut  off  all  communication  with  China,  Dr. 
J.  W.  Lambuth  and  Dr.  Young  J.  Allen  supported 
themselves  and  continued  to  preach  and  teach  the 
gospel  until  supplies  again  reached  them. 

Not  a  convert  was  made  until  1852,  when  Liew,  Mr. 
Jenkins'  teacher,  was  converted.  After  eleven  years 
of  hard  and  sacrificial  work  there  were  eleven  native 
Church  members  in  the  entire  China  Mission. 

*    *    *  ■ 

Bishop  Marvin,  the  first  Southern  Methodist  Bishop 
to  visit  the  Orient,  organized  the  China  Mission  in  1876 
and  ordained  four  native  ministers.  Two  years  later  the 
first  woman  foreign  missionary  was  sent  to  China  by  the 
Woman's  Missionary  Society,  which  had  been  organized 
but  a  few  months.  Miss  Lochie  Rankin,  of  Milan,  Tenn., 
has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  woman  missionary. 

Many  distinguished  leaders  of  Methodism  have  since 
served  in  the  Chinese  field,  among  them  being  Dr.  J.  W. 
Lambuth  and  his  distinguished  son,  Bishop  W.  R.  Lam- 
buth, Dr.  Young  J.  Allen,  Dr.  W.  H.  Parkes,  Dr.  A.  P. 
Parker,  and  many  others.  They  have  laid  a  firm  founda- 
tion for  our  work  in  this  great  eastern  Republic  and 
today  Southern  Methodism  in  China  is  exercising  a  wide- 
spread influence. 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


From  no  other  spot  on  earth  does  there  come  the 
appeal  of  a  greater  need  than  that  which  issues  from 
China.  The  oldest  mission  field  of  our  Church,  it  will 
always  receive  our  interest  and  our  prayers.  No 
Southern  Methodist  worthy  of  the  name  would  for  a 
moment  think  of  retrenching  in  our  work  in  this  great 
Oriental  country,  or  of  taking  a  backward  step  in  the 
work  of  winning  China  for  Christ. 

What  We  Have  in  China 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  confines  its 
work  in  China  to  a  section  of  territory  on  the  Pacific  coast 
surrounding  Shanghai.  When  viewed  on  the  map  this 
section  does  not  appear  large  in  area.  It  contains  5,000,- 
000  people,  however,  and  ours  is  the  only  branch  of 
Methodism  responsible  for  them.  It  contains  Shanghai, 
China's  commercial  center,  with  a  population  of  1,- 
000,000 ;  Soochow,  the  intellectual  center,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  500,000;  and  Huchow,  the  silk  center,  with  a 
population  of  250,000. 

* 

The  China  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  now  has  seven  districts  with  sixty-two 
pastoral  charges  and  125  societies.  There  are  11,000 
Church  members.  The  83  Epworth  Leagues  have  a  mem- 
bership of  nearly  5,000,  while  12,500  young  people  are 
enrolled  in  365  Sunday  schools.  We  have  68  woman's 
missionary  societies  with  3,000  members.  Our  66  houses 
of  worship  are  valued  at  nearly  $600,000  and  we  have  36 
parsonages  worth  about  $80,000. 

The  China  Conference  has  the  distinction  of  being 
the  only  foreign  Conference  which  ever  undertook  the 
opening  of  another  foreign  mission  field.  In  1923  the 
Conference  resolved  to  enterprise  foreign  mission 

84 


CHINA 


work  in  Manchuria,  and  raised  $12,000  for  this  pur- 
pose. This  action  on  the  part  of  China  is  a  striking 
example  of  the  earnestness  and  consecration  of  the 
Chinese  Christians. 

We  have  at  work  in  China  at  the  present  time  seventeen 
evangelists,  sixteen  medical  missionaries,  and  twenty 
teachers.  These,  with  sixty-one  missionaries  and  teachers 
from  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work,  make  a  total  of 
1 14  American  workers  in  China. 

The  major  centers  are  Shanghai,  Soochow,  Huchow, 
Sungkiang,  Nanzing,  Changchow,  and  Taichang.  In 
each  of  these  centers  we  maintain  strong  Churches.  Insti- 
tutional and  Social  Service  plants  are  operated  in  connec- 
tion with  Churches  in  Shanghai,  Soochow,  Huchow,  and 
Changchow.  Operating  from  these  major  centers,  we 
have  dotted  our  whole  territory  with  Churches.  Most 
of  these  village  Churches  are  of  course  attached  to  cir- 
cuits, and  many  of  them  are  in  the  rural  sections. 

A      45  4^ 

Southern  Methodists  should  be  justly  proud  of  their 
educational  work  in  China.  Here  where  Christian  cul- 
ture is  so  greatly  needed,  our  Church  maintains  119 
schools  of  every  grade  and  in  these  there  are  707  teach- 
ers, American  and  native,  training  10,000  young  Chi- 
nese. The  value  of  our  school  property  is  approxi- 
mately $2,000,000.  This  educational  work  is  conducted 
by  both  the  General  and  Woman's  Departments  of  the 
Board  of  Missions. 

The  Department  of  General  Work  has  organized  all  of 
its  educational,  except  the  day  schools,  into  one  great 
system.  This  is  the  Soochow  University  system,  which 
centers  in  the  city  of  Soochow  and  has  its  branches  in 


85 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


various  other  cities.  Soochow  is  one  of  the  greatest 
Methodist  universities  of  the  world.  In  its  entirety  it 
enrolls  more  than  2,500  students,  has  30  American  and  78 
Chinese  teachers,  and  much  valuable  property.  The  value 
of  the  plant  of  Soochow  University  proper  is  more  than 
$500,000.  *  ' 

The  various  units  of  Soochow  University,  together 

with  the  number  of  students  enrolled  in  each,  are  as 
follows : 

1.  Soochow  University  (College  Department),  340. 

2.  Soochow  (Law  Department),  Shanghai,  50. 

3.  Middle  School  Number  One  at  Soochow,  310. 

4.  Middle  School  Number  Two  at  Shanghai,  258. 

5.  Middle  School  Number  Three  at  Huchow,  217. 

6.  Wusih  Technical  School  at  Wusih,  97. 

7.  Sungkiang  Bible  and  Training  School,  36. 

8.  Wu  Dialect  School  at  Soochow,  39. 

9.  Higher  Primary  Schools  at  various  points,  309. 
10.  Lower  Primary  Schools  at  various  points,  902. 

In  addition  to  the  Soochow  University  system  the  De- 
•  partment  of  General  Work  maintains  fifteen  day  schools 
in  as  many  towns.   In  these  are  employed  15  foreign  and 
67  Chinese  teachers.    These  day  schools  enroll  nearly 
1,500  pupils. 

We  also  maintain  an  orphanage  in  Shanghai  which 
might  well  be  classed  under  educational  work.  Here 
young  Chinese  homeless  children  are  gathered,  protected, 
and  reared  with  Christian  training. 

The  Department  of  General  Work  of  our  Board  of 
Missions  maintains  three  hospitals  in  China  as  follows: 

1.  Soochow  Hospital.  The  Centenary  has  rebuilt  Soo- 
chow Hospital  and  it  is  now  thoroughly  modern  and  one 

86 


CHINA 


of  the  finest  institutions  in  China.  An  interesting  ele- 
ment is  the  maintenance  in  the  hospital  of  a  chaplain 
and  Bible  woman  who  give  full  time  to  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  the  patients.  The  Bible  woman  follows  the 
patients  to  their  homes  and  has  been  instrumental  in  lead- 
ing a  large  number  to  Christ  and  the  Church. 

2.  Huchow  Union  Hospital.  This  is  a  union  institu- 
tion operated  by  our  Church  in  connection  with  the 
Baptists. 

3.  Changchow  General  Hospital.  This  institution  has 
not  yet  received  its  Centenary  appropriation  and  so  is 
housed  in  old  ramshackle  buildings  and  has  equipment 
that  is  entirely  inadequate. 

*  45 

The  Woman's  Missionary  Council  supports  sixty- 
one  missionaries  and  teachers  in  China  and  they  are 
engaged  in  educational,  medical,  evangelistic,  and  ad- 
ministrative work.  Some  special  features  of  Woman's 
Work  are  as  follows : 

1.  City  evangelistic  work.  Our  four  great  Institutional 
Churches,  in  Shanghai,  Huchow,  Changchow,  and  Soo- 
chow,  have  women's  departments,  and  the  women  share 
with  the  General  Department  of  the  Board  in  support- 
ing a  staff  of  workers.  In  addition,  social  evangelistic 
work  is  carried  on  in  a  silk  filature  in  Wusih  and  in  Moka 
Garden  Embroidery  Mission,  Soochow. 

2.  District  evangelistic  work.  In  each  district  a 
woman  missionary  is  carrying  on  evangelistic  work  for 
women  and  girls.  These  women  are  provided  with 
house-boats  and  travel  about  the  District  accompanied  by 
Bible  women. 

3.  Medical  work.  The  women  share  in  the  operation 
of  the  Margaret  Williamson  Hospital  in  Shanghai. 

87 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


4.  Christian  Literature.  The  women  also  furnish  one 
missionary  to  the  Christian  Literature  Society  to  aid  in 
the  work  of  creating  and  circulating  Christian  literature 
for  China. 

9  9 

The  women  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  carry  on  an  imposing  program  of  educational  work 
among  the  Chinese  people.  The  following  are  the  lead- 
ing units  of  such  work: 

1.  Ginling  College,  Nanking.  This  is  a  union  College 
founded  in  1913.  It  has  a  splendid  new  campus  and  six 
new  college  buildings  and  an  enrollment  of  100. 

2.  Bible  Teachers'  Training  School  is  another  union 
school  at  Nanking.  Founded  in  1915,  it  now  has  a  fine 
new  plant  and  an  enrollment  of  87. 

3.  The  Hayes-Wilkins  Bible  School,  Sunkiang,  is  a 
Junior  High  School  institution,  founded  in  1890. 

4.  Laura  Haygood  Normal  School,  Soochow.  Six 
missionaries  and  nineteen  Chinese  teachers  are  here  teach- 
ing 357  students,  100  of  whom  are  boarding  pupils. 

5.  McTyeire  High  School,  Shanghai.  This  school  has 
a  splendid  plant  but  is  in  need  of  better  equipment.  The 
enrollment  is  319  with  300  boarders.  The  school  is  self- 
supporting  with  the  exception  of  missionaries'  salaries. 

6.  Virginia  High  School  at  Huchow  has  a  substantial 
plant  but  needs  enlarging.  It  is  now  serving  297  students, 
150  of  whom  are  boarding  pupils.  It  has  two  correlated 
primary  schools,  with  a  combined  enrollment  of  125. 

7.  Atkinson  Academy,  Soochow.  This  is  a  High 
School  for  boys,  founded  in  1896.  It  employs  one  mis- 
sionary and  eighteen  Chinese  teachers  and  has  an  enroll- 
ment of  240. 


88 


CHINA 


8.  Susan  B.  Wilson  School,  Sungkiang.  This  boarding 
school  has  a  good  plant  but  is  greatly  in  need  of  enlarge- 
ment. Its  enrollment  is  160,  90  of  whom  are  boarders. 
It  is  a  Junior  High  School  and  employs  two  missionaries, 
one  American  teacher,  and  eight  native  teachers. 

9.  Davidson  Girls'  School  at  Soochow  is  another 
Junior  High  School.  It  has  two  missionary  and  fifteen 
Chinese  teachers  and  an  enrollment  of  288.  Founded  in 
1903,  it  now  has  a  good  plant  but  needs  additional  equip- 
ment. 

10.  Centenary  Institute,  located  at  North  Gate,  Chang- 
chow,  has  a  beautiful  new  compound  and  building,  the 
gift  of  the  Centenary.  It  is  a  Junior  High  School  and 
one  missionary  and  eight  Chinese  teachers  are  engaged  in 
training  250  students. 

11.  Humbert  Day  School,  Changchow,  East  Gate.  It 
has  an  entirely  inadequate  plant  for  serving  the  187  stu- 
dents enrolled  in  the  seven  grades.  It  was  founded  in 
1913  and  now  has  one  missionary  and  nine  native 
teachers. 

12.  Eslick  Day  School  also  teaches  seven  grades  and 
has  one  missionary  and  seven  native  teachers.  Its  enroll- 
ment is  128.  It  was  founded  in  1918  and  is  located  at 
Hutsun.  Its  new  plant  was  purchased  with  Centenary 
funds. 

13.  Mary  Virginia  Nabors  Day  School,  Wusih,  South 
Gate,  was  founded  in  1908  and  has  eight  grades.  The 
property  is  rented  and  very  inadequate.  One  missionary 
and  seven  Chinese  teachers  are  employed. 

14.  Maria  L.  Gibson  Day  School,  Soochow  (Kong 
Hong)  was  founded  in  1912.  It  has  160  enrolled  and 
these  are  served  by  one  missionary  and  eight  Chinese 
teachers.  Th^is  school  also  has  eight  grades. 

89 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


15.  Faith  Johnson  Day  School,  Changshu.  Built  by 
the  Centenary  in  1920,  this  school  now  enrolls  128  pupils 
who  are  taught  by  seven  Chinese  teachers. 

16.  Theodosia  Wales  Day  School  at  Changshu  was 
also  founded  in  1920  and  is  a  school  of  eight  grades.  The 
property  is  rented.  Seven  Chinese  teachers  serve  128 
pupils. 

17.  McCall  Day  School,  Nyishing.  This  school  also 
has  only  rented  property.  The  enrollment  is  155  and 
seven  native  teachers  instruct  in  the  eight  grades. 

18.  District  Primary  Schools.  There  are  21  of  these 
scattered  over  the  various  districts,  as  follows :  Taichang, 
1 ;  Sungkiang,  6;  Shanghai,  6;  Nanzing,  4;  Changchow, 
2;  Soochow,  2.  The  combined  enrollment  is  414. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

From  the  above  survey  it  will  be  apparent  that  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  is  undertaking  a 
great  program  in  the  ancient  land  of  China.  None  could 
think  of  taking  a  backward  step  in  the  work  of  redeeming 
this  vast  empire.  The  Centenary  has  accomplished  won- 
ders, but  many  of  its  most  important  enterprises  remain 
unfinished.  This  is  a  reproach  upon  our  Church  and 
compromises  us  in  the  eyes  of  the  heathen. 

The  total  amount  due  to  China  on  the  unpaid  Cen- 
tenary askings,  General  Work,  is  $391,300.  Among  so 
great  an  array  of  activities  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  exactly 
detail  the  distribution  of  every  Centenary  dollar.  The 
distribution  is  to  types  of  work,  and  it  may  be  stated  as 
follows : 

Educational   $111,625 

Evangelistic    186,675 

Medical   f  93,000 

90 


CHINA 


For  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work  the  unpaid 


Centenary  askings  total  $176,850.  When  available,  these 
funds  will  be  applied  as  follows: 

Residence  for  Shanghai  workers  $  25,000 

Institutional  Church,  Huchow — land,  building, 

equipment      5,000 

Changchow,  East  Gate: 

School  building    5,000 

Evangelistic  center   3,000 

Wall  and  equipment   1,500 

Maria  L.  Gibson  Settlement,  Soochow: 

Missionary  residence   3,000 

Land  and  wall   2,000 

Equipment    300 

Changshu — Missionary  residence   3,000 

Virginia  School,  Huchow,  school  building   25,000 

Hutsun,  brick  wall   300 

Laura    Haygood    Normal    School — Land  and 

equipment   3,750 

China  Medical  Work,  Shanghai   50,000 

Increased  maintenance  and  building   50,000 



Total  $176,850 


^  4s 

The  Centenary  advance  in  China  has  increased  the 
annual  expenses  of  operation  from  $73,843  in  1919  to 
$148,514  in  1925.  Thus  the  maintenance  bill  has  been 
more  than  doubled.  Income  has  during  this  same  period 
decreased.  Therefore  our  only  hope  of  avoiding  a  with- 
drawal lies  in  increasing  our  income,  and  it  is  estimated 
that  $121,550  in  new  money  annually  will  be  necessary. 


Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  China,  General  $391,300 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  China,  Women   176,850 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   121,550 

91 


CHAPTER  XIV 


CUBA 

ON  October  28,  1492,  Christopher  Columbus,  view- 
ing the  island  of  Cuba  from  the  deck  of  his  vessel, 
exclaimed,  uIt  is  the  most  beautiful  land  that  eye 
ever  saw.  It  excels  all  other  countries  as  far  as  the  day 
surpasses  the  night  in  brightness  and  splendor."  The 
frightened  natives  who  crowded  around  and  viewed  the 
cross  which  Columbus  held  before  their  eyes,  called  their 
country  "Cubanacan,"  and  Columbus,  believing  that  they 
had  spoken  the  name  of  the  great  Oriental  monarch, 
Kublai  Khan,  was  confident  that  he  had  reached  Japan 
and  was  about  to  grasp  the  wealth  of  the  Indies. 

The  Spanish  proceeded  with  characteristic  vigor  to 
exterminate  the  natives  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Hatuey,  a  native  leader,  on  being  burned  at  the  stake 
remarked,  "I  prefer  Hell  to  Heaven  if  there  are  Span- 
iards in  Heaven."  Columbus  corralled  a  number  of 
the  inhabitants  and  made  them  slaves,  carrying  them 
as  presents  to  their  Catholic  Majesties — "because,"  he 
remarked,  "it  is  my  conviction  that  they  would  easily 
become  Christians." 

The  Spaniards  did  indeed  exterminate  the  Indians. 
Not  a  trace  of  them  remains  today.  Their  thinning  ranks 
were  filled  with  Negro  slaves.  Soon  the  land  teemed 
with  Africans.  Slavery  was  not  abolished  until  1 883,  and 
to  this  day  a  large  proportion  of  the  Cuban  population  is 
black. 

Cuba  has  suffered  much.  Twice  the  capital  city  was 
burned  by  pirates,  and  for  two  hundred  years  the  buc- 
caneers made  life  miserable  for  the  people.    Twice  the 

93 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


English  attacked  the  island,  and  in  1762  it  became  British 
territory  for  a  brief  season.  Coming  again  under  the  con- 
trol of  Spain  it  felt  the  hard  hand  of  oppression. 

Extortion  was  the  order  of  the  day.  Cuba  could 
trade  with  no  country  save  Spain  and  only  through 
the  port  of  Cadiz.  Finally,  capping  the  climax  of 
tyranny,  Ferdinand  VII  issued  his  infamous  "Royal 
Order"  which  placed  Cuba  under  martial  law  and  in 
a  state  of  siege,  subject  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  the 
Spanish  captain-general,  who  had  the  power  of  life  and 
death.  This  "Royal  Order"  remained  the  only  consti- 
tution of  Cuba  for  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century. 

Against  an  unmixed  despotism  the  Cubans  at  last 
rebelled.  For  seventy-five  years  there  was  constant 
warfare.  Rebellion  after  rebellion  swept  the  island. 
The  population  was  reduced  to  a  fraction  of  its  wonted 
number.  The  whole  country  became  wasted  as  a 
desert. 

^     4£i  ^ 

At  last  the  savage  General  Weyler  attempted  to  crush 
the  insurrection  by  removing  the  Cuban  country  folk 
from  their  homes  and  imprisoning  them  in  garrisoned 
cities,  hoping  thereby  to  starve  them  into  submission.  In 
the  ranks  of  these  "reconcentrados"  misery,  pestilence, 
starvation,  and  disease  prevailed.  The  conscience  of  the 
civilized  world  could  stand  it  no  longer.  America  be- 
came aroused,  and  when  on  February  IS,  1898,  the 
United  States  battleship  "Maine"  was  destroyed  in  the 
harbor  of  Havana,  it  was  a  signal  for  intervention. 

President  McKinley  recognized  the  independence  of 
the  people  of  Cuba  and  demanded  the  complete  evacua- 
tion of  the  Spanish.  Admiral  Dewey  destroyed  the 
Asiatic  squadron  of  the  Spanish  fleet,  under  Admiral 
Montojo,  in  the  battle  of  Manila  Bay,  and  Sampson  de- 

94 


CUBA 


stroyed  the  remainder  of  the  Spanish  fleet  under  Admiral 
Cervera  as  it  attempted  to  escape  from  Santiago  harbor. 
General  Shafter  besieged  Santiago  from  the  land  and  the 
city  surrendered.  Spain  was  conquered  and  Cuba  be- 
came free. 

This  land  owes  much  of  her  present  prosperity  to 
America,  and  the  interests  of  the  sister  Republics  will 
always  be  intertwined. 

The  Americans  occupied  Cuba  for  four  years,  and 
during  this  period,  for  the  first  time  in  history,  the  island 
had  a  stable  and  solvent  government.  The  Americans 
raised  among  the  Cuban  people  $57,000,000  and  spent  it 
for  improvements,  and  when  they  evacuated  they  turned 
over  to  the  new  Cuban  government  $635,000  in  cash. 
Gambling,  the  national  lottery,  bull-fighting  and  cock- 
fighting  were  suppressed.  For  the  first  time  Cuba  learned 
sanitation. 

The  Americans  built  more  miles  of  highway  in  four 
years  than  the  Spanish  had  constructed  in  four  cen- 
turies. As  a  climax  of  American  service  for  Cuba, 
the  yellow  fever  plague,  which  for  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  had  never  failed  to  appear  each  summer,  was 
completely  eradicated  by  American  surgeons.  When 
the  Americans  took  charge  there  were  only  87,000  chil- 
dren attending  school;  when  they  left  the  number  was 
171,000.  The  Americans  started  Cuba  on  the  upward 
road  along  which  she  has  advanced,  albeit  with  one  or 
two  missteps,  ever  since. 

Those  who  are  familiar  with  Roman  Catholicism  of 
the  Spanish  type  can  well  imagine  Cuba's  condition  after 
four  hundred  years  of  its  control.  The  Catholics  had 
been  teaching  the  Cubans  since  the  year  1500,  but  when 


95 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


the  Americans  took  a  census  in  1898  sixty  percent  of 
all  the  people  were  unable  to  read  and  write.  To  this 
day  characteristic  Roman  Catholic  superstition,  igno- 
rance, extortion,  and  immorality  prevail. 

Under  Spanish  rule  no  Protestant  services  were 
allowed.  The  Bible  was  interdicted  in  the  Custom 
House.  Foreign  residents  could  not  even  build  a 
Protestant  chapel  for  their  own  use.  The  sailors  killed 
by  the  destruction  of  the  "Maine"  in  1898  were  denied 
the  privilege  of  having  the  Protestant  burial  service 
read  over  their  bodies,  and  Captain  Sigsbee  read  the 
service  on  the  sly  in  his  carriage  en  route  to  the  ceme- 
tery and  in  his  own  room  at  the  hotel. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  Spanish-American 
war,  our  Church,  alive  to  its  opportunity,  entered  Cuba. 
It  was  recognized  as  peculiarly  fitting  that  Southern 
Methodism  should  evangelize  this  adjacent  island. 
Bishop  Warren  A.  Candler  led  the  way  and  for  fifteen 
years  supervised  the  Cuban  work. 

The  Northern  branch  of  American  Methodism, 
which  had  been  operating  in  Cuba,  withdrew  and  turned 
the  whole  country  over  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  Within  a  few  months  after  the  begin- 
ning was  made,  work  was  in  operation  at  the  four 
strategic  centers  of  Havana,  Matanzas,  Cienfuegos,  and 
Santiago.  The  first  annual  meeting  of  the  Mission  was 
held  at  Matanzas  in  1900,  and  at  that  time  the  member- 
ship of  our  Church  in  the  island  was  only  21. 

*\5F*  "^5-  *^*- 

The  progress  of  our  work  was  so  rapid  that  in  nine 
years  this  Mission  reported  more  members  than  any 
Southern  Methodist  foreign  Mission  except  Mexico  and 

96 


CUBA 


Brazil.  That  growth  has  continued,  and  today  our 
Church,  which  is  the  only  Protestant  body  covering 
the  whole  of  Cuba,  is  by  far  the  most  influential  Prot- 
estant force  in  the  country. 

What  We  Have  in  Cuba 

No  other  branch  of  Methodism  save  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  works  in  Cuba.  This  is  the 
only  one  of  the  pre-Centenary  mission  fields  wherein  we 
are  attempting  to  evangelize  the  whole  nation;  and  our 
Church  is  the  only  denomination  which  does  maintain 
work  in  every  part  of  Cuba. 

In  Cuba  we  have  a  full-fledged  Annual  Conference; 
the  island  graduated  from  a  Mission  into  a  Conference  in 
1923. 

There  are  four  Districts:  Havana,  Matanzas,  Cien- 
fuegos,  and  Camaguey.  In  these  there  are  25  pastoral 
charges,  with  nearly  50  local  Churches  and  about  6,000 
members.  There  are  53  Sunday  schools,  with  300  officers 
and  teachers  and  nearly  5,000  pupils.  The  Epworth 
Leagues  number  20  and  in  these  are  enrolled  about  600 
Leaguers.  ' 

We  maintain  work  in  the  following  cities  and  towns: 
Havana,  Arroyo  Arenas,  Hoyo  Colorado,  Punta  Brava, 
Santiago  de  las  Vegas,  Calabazar,  Pinar  del  Rio,  Herra- 
dura,  Matanzas,  Jovellanos,  Pedro  Betancourt,  Cardenas, 
Coliseo,  Colon,  Calimete,  Amarillas,  Cienfuegos,  Abreus, 
Aguada  de  Pasajeros,  San  Juan  de  los  Yeras,  Matagua, 
Santa  Clara,  Manahanabo,  Baez,  Fomento,  Trinidad, 
Manicaragua,  Camaguey,  Nuevitas,  Minas,  La  Gloria, 
Omaja,  Holguin,  Cacocum,  Antilla,  Coyo  Mambi, 
Mayari,  Preston,  Santiago  de  Cuba,  Jamaica,  and  Guan- 
tanamo.  On  the  Isle  of  Pines  there  are  Churches  at 
Nueva  Gerona,  Columbia,  Santa  Fe,  and  McKinley. 

97 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


In  addition  to  these,  work  is  maintained  at  a  number  of 
places  in  the  rural  districts. 

Our  Church  owns  40  Church  buildings  valued  at 
nearly  $300,000  and  26  parsonages  worth  more  than 
$100,000. 

ft     ft .   ■  4ft 

Special  mention  should  be  made  of  the  magnificent 
Central  Building  in  Havana.  This  is  by  far  the  finest 
and  largest  Protestant  Church  in  Cuba  and  one  of  the 
best  mission  buildings  in  the  world.  It  stands  in  the 
very  center  of  the  great  capital  city,  and  as  a  worthy 
representative  of  Protestantism  commands  attention 
and  respect. 

This  great  building  contains  two  complete  and  mod- 
ern Churches,  one  for  the  American  congregation  and 
one  for  the  Cuban.  On  the  second  floor  is  a  school, 
with  an  adequate  equipment  of  class  rooms,  audi- 
torium, and  other  necessary  educational  adjuncts.  The 
third  floor  has  apartments  for  pastors  and  teachers. 

This  great  enterprise  is  entirely  a  product  of  the 
Centenary.  Unfortunately,  it  is  as  yet  uncompleted, 
though  being  used,  owing  to  the  failure  of  many  per- 
sons to  pay  their  Centenary  pledges  in  full.  This  is 
one  of  the  tragedies  of  the  unpaid  pledge. 

ft   ft  ■■■  ■ft 

The  Church  in  Cuba  publishes  its  own  official  organ, 
UE1  Evangelisto  Cubano,"  and  a  Sunday  School  quar- 
terly, "Revista  Trimestral."  It  maintains  its  Sunday 
School  Training  Institutes  and  Epworth  League  Confer- 
ences with  much  efficiency. 

The  educational  system  of  Methodism  in  Cuba  far  sur- 
passes that  of  any  other  denomination;  our  schools  excel 
in  quality  the  public  school  system. 

98 


CUBA 


The  Board  of  Missions,  General  Work,  maintains  two 
institutions  for  boarding  students  in  Cuba. 

1.  Candler  College  at  Havana  is  a  truly  great  institu- 
tion in  that  it  trains  practically  all  of  the  native  preachers 
for  our  Church.  Its  annual  attendance  is  about  175.  It 
has  a  valuable  campus  strategically  located  on  an  eleva- 
tion overlooking  one  of  the  finest  suburbs  of  Havana,  and 
two  large  buildings  provide  dormitory  and  classroom 
space.  Within  a  stone's  throw  of  Candler  College  are 
located  Leland  Memorial  Church,  Buenavista  College 
for  girls,  and  three  missionary  residences,  thus  forming  a 
numerous  and  excellent  Methodist  colony.  Candler  Col- 
lege has  13  teachers  and  property  valued  at  $100,000. 

2.  Pinson  College,  at  Camaguey,  enrolls  more  than 
200  of  the  finest  boys  and  girls  of  Cuba.  It  owns  an 
excellent  campus  in  the  aristocratic  "Zambrana"  sub- 
urb of  the  city.  Unfortunately,  its  Centenary  appro- 
priation has  not  been  paid  and  the  college  is  suffering 
terribly  from  this  fact.  Its  buildings  are  a  few  small 
cottages.  Its  classrooms  are  wooden  sheds.  Its  seats 
are  discarded  street  car  benches.  Its  only  dormitory 
is  an  attic  wherein  25  boys  are  huddled. 

55 

In  addition  to  the  institutions  above  mentioned,  the 
Board  of  Missions,  General  Work,  maintains  several  Day 
Schools  which  receive  young  children.  These  render  an 
invaluable  service,  as  they  far  surpass  the  average  Cuban 
public  school  in  quality  and  inject  the  Christian  element 
into  their  teaching.   These  schools  are  as  follows: 

1.  Central  School,  Havana. 

2.  Colegio  Methodista,  Jovellanos. 

3.  Colegio  Methodista,  Pinar  del  Rio. 

4.  Colegio  Methodista,  Antilla. 

5.  Caperton  School,  Santiago  de  Cuba. 

6.  Colegio  Methodista,  Nuevitas. 

99 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


The  women  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  are  rendering  a  far-reaching  service  in  Cuba.  In 
many  of  the  congregations  missionary  auxiliaries  have 
been  organized;  there  are  now  11  such  societies  with 
more  than  400  members,  and  these  raised  more  than 
$1,000  in  1923. 

The  educational  institutions  maintained  by  the  Board 
of  Missions,  Woman's  Work,  are  the  finest  of  their  kind 
in  Cuba. 

1.  Buenavista  College  stands  across  the  street  from 
Candler  College  in  the  capital  city  of  Havana.  It  is  a 
product  of  the  Centenary.  It  is  a  Normal  School  for 
the  training  of  teachers  and  is  practically  self-supporting. 
The  beautiful  three-story  building,  worth  $120,000, 
houses  about  ISO  girls. 

2.  Irene  Toland  College  is  located  at  Matanzas,  and, 
thanks  to  the  Centenary,  possesses  now  the  most  beautiful 
building  of  all  our  Cuban  schools.  It  is  perhaps  the  best 
known  and  influential  institution  in  Matanzas.  Its  enroll- 
ment is  about  125,  which  will  be  greatly  increased  when 
contemplated  additional  stories  can  be  added  to  the  new 
building. 

3.  Eliza  Bowman  College,  at  Cienfuegos,  enrolls 
nearly  200  girls  each  year.  With  Centenary  money 
and  funds  derived  from  the  sale  of  other  property  the 
finest  site  in  Cienfuegos  has  been  purchased.  An 
appropriation  was  made  for  a  building,  but  the  Cen- 
tenary pledges  have  not  been  paid  and  the  money  is 
not  yet  available.  The  College  now  occupies  an  old 
residence.  Classes  meet  in  the  teachers'  rooms,  on  the 
porches,  under  the  trees.  Here  is  another  tragedy  of 
the  unpaid  pledge. 


100 


CUBA 


The  Advance  World  Program 

The  unpaid  Centenary  askings  for  Cuba,  General 
Work,  total  $141,600.  Out  of  this  Pinson  College  and 
the  Central  Building  at  Havana  must  be  completed  and 
other  necessary  work  must  be  done. 

*    *  * 

For  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work  the  unpaid 
Centenary  askings  are  $89,910.   This  money  will  be  thus 


used : 

Missionaries'  salaries — salary  increases  $  7,050 

New  Missionaries  (Outfit,  language  and  travel)  1,500 

Miscellaneous  items   1,125 

Colegio  Eliza  Bowman,  teachers  and  equipment.  .  3,550 

Colegio  Buenavista,  teachers  and  equipment   5,785 

Colegio  Irene  Toland,  teachers   4,900 

Colegio  Irene  Toland,  building   16,000 

Increased  maintenance  and  building   50,000 


Total  $89,910 

*^ 


The  scale  of  operation  in  Cuba,  as  elsewhere,  has  been 
greatly  enlarged  by  the  Centenary.  In  1919  our  expenses 
were  $47,118;  for  1925  the  expenses  are  $76,602.  The 
Centenary  funds  cannot  supply  the  additional  workers 
and  buildings  that  may  be  needed,  so  it  is  doubtful 
whether  the  maintenance  expense  can  be  held  down  to 
the  1925  figure  without  seriously  impairing  the  work.  In 
view  of  all  the  facts,  it  is  estimated  that  the  deficit  in 
annual  maintenance  for  Cuba  will  be  not  less  than 


$61,149.  m 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Cuba,  General  $141,600 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Cuba,  Women   89,910 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   61,149 


101 


102 


CHAPTER  XV 


CZECHOSLOVAKIA 

ZECHOSLOVAKIA  is  one  of  the  resurrected 


nations  of  Europe.   Its  birth  is  the  most  wonderful 


romance  of  the  World  War.  For  four  hundred 
years  the  Czechs  had  been  under  the  heel  of  the  Austrian 
oppressor,  denied  the  use  of  their  religion,  language, 
literature,  and  freedom.  No  people  had  been  persecuted 
more  bitterly  than  they.  Yet  there  still  slumbered  in 
their  hearts  suppressed  and  silent  aspirations  for  freedom. 

Though  enrolled  in  the  armies  of  Germany  and  Aus- 
tria and  forced  to  fight  against  the  forces  of  freedom 
in  the  World  War,  the  Czechs  carried  at  the  head  of 
their  column  a  banner  inscribed,  "We  are  marching 
against  the  Russians  but  nobody  knows  why/'  Their 
Teutonic  commander  did  not  dare  to  remove  the  revo- 
lutionary slogan.  Although  in  Austrian  uniform  and 
under  foreign  commanders,  the  Czechs  were  yet  Allies 
at  heart;  and  when  at  last  they  gave  vent  to  their 
aspirations,  announced  their  freedom,  and  proceeded 
to  organize  regiments  to  assist  the  Allies  in  the 
struggle,  the  whole  tenor  of  the  contemporary  history 
was  changed.  Peace  conditions  which  were  laid  down 
before  their  emergence  at  once  became  obsolete.  They 
shook  the  fragile  foundations  of  the  House  of  Haps- 
burg  and  tore  asunder  the  Dual  Monarchy. 


The  whole  history  of  these  people  is  bound  up  with 
religion.  They  are  the  oldest  Protestants  in  the  world. 
We  commonly  give  to  Martin  Luther  full  credit  for  the 


103 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Protestant  Reformation,  but  John  Huss,  the  Bo- 
hemian, started  a  Protestant  Reformation  and  was 
burned  at  the  stake  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century  before  Luther  was 
born.  When  Luther's  Reformation  began  there  were 
already  400  Protestant  Churches  and  200,000  Prot- 
estant Church  members  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia. 

45 

The  people  everywhere  flocked  to  Huss  and  accepted 
his  Protestant  teachings.  In  HIS,  Huss  was  summoned 
to  attend  a  religious  council  at  Constance  and  given  by 
Pope  and  Emperor  a  guarantee  of  safety.  When  he 
arrived  at  Constance,  however,  this  guarantee  was  disre- 
garded and  the  great  reformer  was  burned  at  the  stake, 
his  ashes  being  scattered  on  the  River  Rhine. 

The  death  of  Huss  was  the  signal  for  a  long  and 
bloody  struggle.  The  Czech  nobles  met  and  declared 
that  the  Catholic  murderers  of  Huss  were  "liars,  vile 
traitors,  and  calumniators  of  both  Bohemia  and  Mora- 
via, the  worst  of  all  heretics,  full  of  all  evil,  sons  of  the 
devil."  They  declared  that  "we  will  defend  the  laws  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  his  pious,  humble,  and 
steadfast  preachers  at  the  cost  of  our  blood,  scorning 
all  human  decrees  which  may  be  contrary  to  them." 

Then  followed  the  Hussite  Wars.  Led  by  the  blind 
Ziska,  whose  military  genius  has  been  compared  to  that 
of  Hannibal,  the  Czechs  forced  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  to  make  concessions  and  recognize  the  Prot- 
estants. *    ^  ^ 

In  1526  the  notorious  Hapsburgs  established  over 
Bohemia  a  rule  that  meant  four  hundred  years  of  oppres- 
sion, persecution,  and  desolation.  The  Jesuits  were  estab- 
lished in  Bohemia  and  began  the  long  work  of  crushing 

104 


CZECHOSLOVAKIA 


religious  liberty.  The  Czechs  and  Protestants  were 
identical.  The  Hapsburgs  and  the  Catholics  were  one 
and  the  same,  and  generation  after  generation  the 
struggle  was  carried  on. 

In  1618  began  a  rebellion  to  get  rid  of  the  Hapsburgs 
and  win  again  religious  and  national  freedom.  At 
the  beginning  of  this  war  Bohemia  had  a  population 
of  3,000,000;  at  the  end  there  were  only  800,000.  "Prot- 
estantism was  wiped  out  with  fire  and  sword.  The 
Czech  nobility  were  mercilessly  routed  out  and  their 
lands  confiscated.  Bohemia's  ancient  rights  were 
abrogated.  Catholicism  was  forced  upon  the  surviving 
population,  while  in  the  place  of  the  Bohemian  aris- 
tocracy an  alien  ruling  class  was  planted  by  the  Haps- 
burgs. The  Jesuits  made  it  one  of  their  chief  purposes 
to  destroy  systematically  the  Czech  literature.  One 
Jesuit  leader  boasted  that  'he  had  himself  burned  no 
fewer  than  60,000  Czech  volumes.' " 

In  1620  the  Czechs  were  disastrously  beaten  at  the 
battle  of  White  Mountain.  Jesuitism  was  supreme.  The 
Czechs  became  the  subjects  of  Austria,  which  undertook 
the  process  of  eradicating  from  the  minds  of  the  Czechs 
and  their  children  all  memories  of  freedom,  Protestant- 
ism, and  national  aspiration.  This  did  not  end  until  the 
Czechoslovaks  gained  their  freedom  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  World  War. 


Perhaps  it  would  not  be  too  much  to  say  that  the 
Moravians  gave  Methodism  to'  the  world.  At  least  it 
was  through  their  instrumentality  that  John  Wesley 
"felt  his  heart  strangely  warmed,"  and  thus  realized 
in  his  own  life  the  great  Methodist  doctrine  of  the 
witness  of  the  Spirit. 

105 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Driven  out  of  their  own  country,  a  little  group  of 
refugees  from  Moravia  established  a  settlement  called 
Herrnhut  in  Saxony  under  the  patronage  of  Count  Zin- 
zendorf.  In  1734  Moravian  missionaries  came  to  Amer- 
ica and  founded  at  Savannah  a  mission  to  the  Indians. 
There  they  came  in  contact  with  John  Wesley. 

On  his  return  to  England,  Wesley  was  much  impressed 
by  the  fact  that  certain  Moravians  on  board  the  ship  were 
at  perfect  ease  in  the  midst  of  a  storm,  and  in  conversation 
with  them  Mr.  Wesley  became  dissatisfied  with  his  own 
religious  experience.  One  evening  in  May,  1738,  while 
attending  a  Moravian  prayer  meeting  in  London,  Mr 
Wesley  underwent  the  religious  experience  which  made 
of  him  a  flaming  evangelist  and  the  founder  of  Meth- 
odism.  Desiring  more  fully  to  understand  the  discipline 
and  order  of  the  Moravians,  Wesley  visited  Herrnhut  and 
this  visit  did  much  to  shape  his  future  course  and  the  plan 
of  his  religious  activities.  We  shall  never  know  how 
greatly  the  Moravian  spirit  influenced  Methodism. 

^ 

In  the  Centenary  Movement  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  saw  and  grasped  its  opportunity  to  repay 
in  some  degree  the  debt  of  Methodism  to  this  people. 
The  Church  resolved  to  enterprise  work  in  the  resur- 
rected nation.  The  policy  at  first  was  one  of  relief.  Fol- 
lowing the  World  War  the  people  were  in  dire  need  of 
food  and  clothing  and  this  need  our  Church  attempted  to 
supply.  The  relief  work,  however,  soon  developed  into 
a  constructive  program. for  moral  and  spiritual  uplift, 
and  it  was  clearly  seen  that  in  order  to  adequately  meet 
the  situation  a  permanent  Mission  should  be  established. 

A  strange  and  wonderful  thing  happened  when  the 
Czechs  became  free.  Though  smothered  for  four  hun- 

106 


CZECHOSLOVAKIA 


dred  years  under  a  blanket  of  Catholicism,  the  old 
Czech  spirit  of  religious  liberty  was  not  dead.  No 
sooner  had  the  people  heard  the  first  words  of  the 
Methodist  evangel  than  hearts  responded  to  it.  It 
brought  back  the  stirrings  and  remembrances  of  Huss 
and  their  fathers,  and  almost  as  one  man  the  nation 
responded.  They  turned  back  to  Protestantism  in  vast 
numbers.  A  revival  such  as  the  world  has  not  wit- 
nessed in  modern  times  swept  the  land.  Thousands 
flocked  to  Methodism. 

Our  work  in  that  country  constitutes  one  of  the  mar- 
vels of  modern  missions.  Unlike  many  foreign  mission 
fields,  our  Churches  here  are  not  small  but  are  vast  in 
proportions,  some  of  them  rivaling  the  greatest  con- 
gregations of  America.  Although  extreme  care  is  exer- 
cised in  admitting  persons  to  actual  Church  member- 
ship, our  members  today,  after  only  two  years  of 
organized  work,  total  9,000.  If  we  continue  to  support 
this  Mission  we  can  redeem  Czechoslovakia  and  take 
the  whole  nation  for  the  Protestant  faith. 

What  We  Have  in  Czechoslovakia 

All  of  the  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  in  Czechoslovakia  is  directed  by  the  Board  of 
Missions,  General  Work.  Here  as  in  no  other  mission 
field  in  the  world  we  are  able  to  confine  ourselves  to  the 
work  of  evangelistic  preaching.  We  have  only  one 
school,  a  Biblical  Seminary  in  the  capital  city  of  Prague. 

We  have  acquired  valuable  and  beautiful  property  in 
Czechoslovakia.  This  has  been  made  necessary  because 
of  the  vast  congregations  which  attend  our  services.  Our 
great  Vrsovice  Church,  for  example,  would  do  honor  to 
any  city  in  America  and  has  a  congregation  of  about 
2,300. 

107 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


The  work  is  growing  by  leaps  and  bounds,  so  that 
any  report  of  it  is  soon  inadequate.  At  the  annual 
session  of  1924  there  were  four  districts,  27  pastoral 
charges,  and  36  organized  Churches.  We  had  23 
preachers  at  work,  of  whom  18  were  native  pastors  and 
five  were  missionaries  from  America.  The  total  mem- 
bership was  9,000.  There  were  eleven  Epworth 
Leagues  and  243  members,  32  Sunday  schools  with 
1,715  pupils,  and  eleven  missionary  societies  with  400 
members. 

9      -S5  -ft 

There  is  in  Czechoslovakia  a  distinct  movement  to- 
ward self-support.  The  people  themselves  in  1924  raised 
nearly  $4,000  for  Church  buildings  and  $8,000  for  all 
purposes.  This  was  more  than  double  the  amount  raised 
in  1923  and  four  times  the  amount  of  1922.  Outstanding 
features  of  our  work  are  as  follows : 

1.  In  the  capital  city  of  Prague  we  own  a  great  Central 
Building  which  is  the  pride  of  the  Mission.  This  build- 
ing houses  the  administrative  offices,  a  regular  Church 
congregation,  and  our  Bible  School. 

2.  The  Biblical  Seminary  of  Prague  is  training  preach- 
ers for  the  Mission.  During  1924  this  Seminary  enrolled 
twenty  students,  all  candidates  for  the  Methodist 
ministry. 

3.  Our  Churches  cover  the  whole  country.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  principal  places  occupied  by  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South:  Prague,  Sedlec,  Liberec, 
Straenici,  Litomerice,  Usti,  Lovosice,  Terazin,  Most, 
Zlonice,  Mukarov,  Myto,  Dobrotiva,  Lhota,  Plzen, 
Slany,  Smecno,  Velvary,  Kamenomost,  Cernuce,  Vrso- 
vice,  Bratislava,  Uzhorod,  Mukacevo,  Vrutky,  Trnava, 
Bechyne,  Chrastany,  Bernardice,  Milevsko,  Jihlava, 
Lomnice  n-luz,  Klece,  Fraheiz,  Luznice,  Protivin,  Neto- 

108 


CZECHOSLOVAKIA 


lice,  Straz,  Novosedla,  Plavsko,  Pribraz,  Pistina,  Tre- 
bon,  Hlina,  Domanin,  Brilice,  Tyn  n-Vlt. 

4.  A  most  important  religious  work  is  being  carried  on 
among  the  Ukrainian  students.  A  special  secretary  is 
appointed  to  this  activity.  Thousands  of  students  flocked 
out  of  Russia  and  the  Ukraine  at  the  close  of  the  War  to 
continue  their  studies  at  the  great  University  of  Prague. 
They  were  homeless,  naked,  and  starving.  By  the  estab- 
lishment of  relief  kitchens  for  them,  our  Church  won  the 
undying  loyalty  of  these  students  who  will  be  the  future 
leaders  of  the  Slavic  people. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

Czechoslovakia  has  no  means  of  support  save  the  Cen- 
tenary. If,  therefore,  the  Centenary  payments  become 
delinquent,  the  work  must  suffer  accordingly.  The 
amount  remaining  due  to  Czechoslovakia  on  the  unpaid 
Centenary  askings  is  $275,000. 

&     ■  9  "  9 

When  the  Centenary  money  is  no  longer  available  the 
funds  for  the  support  of  Czechoslovakia  must  all  come 
from  a  source  other  than  the  regular  assessment.  In  the 
estimates  of  the  Advance  World  Program  the  sum  of 
$67,320  per  year  must  be  so  raised.  This  amount  will 
fall  considerably  short  of  maintaining  the  work  out- 
right on  the  1925  basis,  and  of  course  no  advance  could 
possibly  be  made.  It  is  hoped,  however,  that  the  Czecho- 
slovak Methodists  will  increase  in  number  and  in  the 
scale  of  their  giving  and  thus  make  it  possible  for  the 
Church  to  push  forward  in  the  redemption  of  this  mission 
field. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Czechoslovakia,  Gen . .  $275,000 
Deficit  in  annual  maintenance,  General .......  67,320 

109 


CHAPTER  XVI 
JAPAN 


HE  empire  of  Japan  is  a  large  group  of  islands  in 


the  North  Pacific  Ocean  off  the  coast  of  China  and 


Siberia.  Japan  proper  is  about  a  thousand  miles 
long,  and  if  laid  upon  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United 
States  it  would  stretch  from  Labrador  to  Cuba. 

Japan  is  densely  populated,  having  nearly  60,000,000 
people  in  1922.  The  necessity  of  finding  a  home  for  its 
rapidly  multiplying  population  is  the  leading  factor 
which  is  bringing  the  empire  into  conflict  with  the  United 
States  and  other  countries  inhabited  by  the  white  race. 


The  Japanese  people  make  large  claims  for  their  his- 
tory. They  claim  that  their  empire  was  founded  in  660 
B.  C.  by  the  first  Emperor,  Jimmu  Tenno.  They  further- 
more claim  that  his  dynasty  still  prevails  and  that  the 
present  Emperor  is  the  122nd  of  that  dynasty. 

Without  presuming  to  pass  upon  these  claims,  we  can 
state  that  the  reliable  records  of  Japan  date  back  to  only 
about  522  A.  D.  About  that  date  Buddhist  missionaries 
entered  Japan  from  Korea  and  introduced  their  religion. 

During  this  early  period  the  land  was  entirely  unknown 
to  Europeans.  The  great  navigator  Marco  Polo  made 
mention  of  it  in  1298  A.  D.,  but  it  was  not  until  1542,  half 
a  century  after  the  discovery  of  America,  that  Europe 
obtained  any  definite  information  concerning  Japan.  In 
that  year  a  Portugese  sailor,  Mendez  Pinto,  was  driven 
out  of  his  course  by  a  storm  and  sighted  one  of  the  islands 
of  Japan,  and  he  brought  back  to  Europe  the  first  knowl- 
edge of  these"  distant  shores. 


Ill 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


About  that  time  the  Jesuit  order  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  was  founded,  and  the  great  Jesuit  missionary, 
St.  Francis  Xavier,  resolved  to  plant  Christianity  in  this 
new  Oriental  country.  Xavier  had  previously  met  a 
young  Japanese  refugee,  Anjiro  by  name,  who  had  com- 
mitted murder  in  his  native  land  and  had  fled  to  Malacca. 
The  young  man  was  converted  through  the  Jesuit's  influ- 
ence, entered  a  training  school  for  priests,  and  became 
known  as  "Paul  of  the  Holy  Faith." 

In  1549  Xavier  and  Anjiro  went  to  Japan  for  the  pur- 
pose of  introducing  Christianity.  Their  efforts  were 
quite  favorably  received,  and  other  Jesuits  followed.  The 
priests  were  given  permission  to  preach  everywhere  and  a 
rapid  growth  of  Christianity  followed.  Within  forty 
years  after  the  landing  of  Xavier  there  were  200  Catholic 
Churches  and  150,000  members,  and  at  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  century  the  number  had  reached  600,000. 


Then  came  a  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  Japanese 
rulers.  Portugese  and  other  traders  followed  the  trail  of 
the  missionaries  and  Japan  became  suspicious  as  to  the 
ultimate  designs  of  the  propagandists  of  the  new  faith. 
The  leaders  saw  that  there  were  grave  sources  of  danger 
in  a  religion  which  was  so  strongly  backed  by  foreign 
countries. 

Accordingly  an  edict  was  issued  absolutely  prohibit- 
ing the  profession,  practice,  or  teaching  of  Christianity 
in  Japan.  This  was  in  1606.  A  few  years  later  all  the 
missionaries  were  banished  and  a  systematic  persecu- 
tion of  the  native  Christians  began. 

The  Christians  were  hunted  down  and  killed  or  driven 
like  animals  from  their  homes.  They  were  thrown  from 

112 


JAPAN 


cliffs  into  the  sea ;  they  were  exposed  and  frozen  to  death ; 
they  were  burned  at  the  stake;  they  were  crucified.  The 
remnant  of  Christianity  was  as  thoroughly  swept  away 
by  sword,  fire,  and  banishment  as  it  was  possible  for  such 
instruments  to  accomplish  that  result. 

The  name  of  Jesus  became  feared  and  despised  by 
the  whole  nation.  As  time  went  on  Christianity 
seemed  to  be  forgotten.  Nearly  250  years  passed,  and 
then,  strange  to  relate,  when  Christian  missionaries 
again  entered  Japan  they  found  in  and  around 
Nagasaki  whole  villages  of  Christians  who  had  secretly 
preserved  their  faith.  This  is  proof  that  the  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ  cannot  be  stamped  out  by  physical 
force. 

After  driving  out  the  missionaries  and,  as  they  believed, 
thoroughly  extirpating  Christianity,  the  Japanese  entered 
upon  a  policy  of  rigid  exclusion.  All  means  of  com- 
munication with  the  outer  world  were  cut  off.  Aliens 
were  forbidden  to  enter  Japan  and  the  Japanese  were 
forbidden  to  travel  abroad  on  pain  of  death.  All  for- 
eigners were  executed.  If  Japanese  sailors  were  ship- 
wrecked on  a  foreign  shore  they  could  never  return  to 
their  native  land,  lest  they  bring  the  dreaded  religion  of 
Christ.  On  the  roadways  were  posted  warnings  to  all 
who  should  profess  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  these  signs 
were  not  removed  until  1872.  "So  long  as  the  sun  shall 
continue  to  warm  the  earth,"  read  one  of  these  warnings, 
"let  no  Christian  be  so  bold  as  to  come  to  Japan,  and  let 
all  know  that  the  King  of  Spain  himself,  or  the  Chris- 
tian's God,  or  the  great  God  himself,  if  he  dare  violate 
this  command,  shall  pay  for  it  with  his  head." 

This  policy  of  exclusiveness  prevailed  for  more  than 
200  years.    Many  attempts  were  made  by  various  Euro- 

113 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 

pean  nations  to  secure  an  entrance,  but  in  vain.  But  at 
last  on  July  8,  1853,  Commodore  Perry,  of  the  United 
States  navy,  sailed  into  the  Gulf  of  Yedo  and  in  the  name 
of  the  United  States  virtually  compelled  the  Japanese 
Emperor  to  receive  a  letter  from  President  Filmore. 
Perry  sailed  away,  but  when  he  returned  with  his  fleet  the 
following  year  the  Japanese  had  come  to  their  senses  and 
concluded  a  treaty  opening  their  ports  to  American  trade. 
From  the  expedition  of  Commodore  Perry  date  modern 
Christian  missions  and  civilization  in  Japan. 

*  -8s 

In  1885  our  Board  of  Missions  officially  resolved  to 
undertake  a  Mission  in  Japan,  and  Dr.  J.  W.  Lambuth 
was  sent  from  China  on  a  tour  of  inspection.  The  next 
year,  1886,  Bishop  McTyeire,  presiding  over  the  Mission 
in  China,  appointed  J.  W.  Lambuth,  his  son  Walter  R. 
Lambuth,  and  O.  A.  Duke,  as  missionaries  to  Japan. 
The  growth  and  development  of  Southern  Methodism  in 
the  island  empire  is  an  ever-living  memorial  to  the 
dauntless  spirit  of  these  three  missionaries  and  their 
faithful  wives. 

Since  that  day  Southern  Methodism  in  Japan  has  made 
mighty  strides.  Its  influence  cannot  be  shown  by  statis- 
tics, for  an  indigenous  Methodism,  the  Japan  Methodist 
Church,  has  been  founded  and  as  soon  as  converts  are 
firmly  established  in  their  faith  they  usually  affiliate  with 
this  Church.  But  Methodism  has  been  one  of  the  strong 
influences  which  has  brought  Japan  thus  far  along  the 
highway  to  Christian  civilization. 

Our  work  in  Japan  is  located  around  the  inland  sea 
with  Kobe  as  its  base.  This  is  a  strategic  situation.  There 
is  no  overlapping  territory  with  other  Methodists.  It 
contains  Japan's  most  fertile  and  richest  industrial  sec- 

114 


JAPAN 


tion,  teeming  with  millions  of  eager,  restless  people. 
Within  its  bounds  are  Kobe,  with  the  greatest  tonnage  of 
any  port  in  the  Orient;  Kyoto,  with  880  Buddhist  tem- 
ples; and  other  great  cities  like  Osaka,  Okayama,  Hiro- 
shima, and  Shimonoseki. 

«    #  # 

In  recent  times  Japan  has  made  the  most  wonderful 
advances  of  any  nation.  Although  within  the  memory  of 
people  now  living  she  denied  foreigners  the  right  to  tread 
upon  her  soil,  she  today  ranks  as  one  of  the  world  powers, 
on  a  par  of  international  influence  with  America,  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Italy.  And  yet  Japan  remains  heathen. 
She  is  highly  civilized  but  her  civilization  is  not  Chris- 
tian. She  has  116,000  Shinto  shrines  and  107,000  Bud- 
dhist temples,  while  the  heathen  priests  and  priestesses 
number  70,000.  The  position  of  Japan  in  international 
affairs  rests  upon  her  military  strength,  and  her  military 
forces  are  Prussian  trained  and  imbued  with  Prussian 
ideals. 

Left  as  she  is  to  wield  a  heathen  influence  in  the 
councils  of  the  world  and  to  further  the  spirit  of 
militarism  which  she  learned  from  the  Prussians, 
Japan  will  menace  the  world.  She  is  destined  to  con- 
trol the  East  and  if  Japan  remains  heathen  therefore 
the  whole  Orient  will  remain  heathen.  It  is  imperative 
that  Japan  be  won  for  Christ. 

What  We  Have  in  Japan 

As  stated  above,  statistics  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  do  not  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  Meth- 
odism's strength  and  influence  in  the  Japanese  empire, 
because  most  of  the  results  we  secure  accrue  not  to  us  but 
to  the  Japan  Methodist  Church.  There  are  at  the  present 
time  perhaps  300,000  Christians  in  Japan. 

115 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


We  do  not  have  a  regular  Annual  Conference,  but  the 
work  of  the  Mission  is  divided  into  three  Districts,  with 
19  pastoral  charges  embracing  94  societies.  Our  total 
membership  is  about  2,500. 

We  maintain  in  Japan  our  full  Church  organization. 
There  are  40  Epworth  Leagues  with  600  members.  We 
have  a  Sunday  school  in  practically  every  society  and 
6,000  boys  and  girls  are  therein  receiving  regular  Chris- 
tian instruction.  We  own  twenty  houses  of  worship  and 
a  large  number  of  schools  and  other  institutions.  At 
present  we  have  47  American  missionaries  and  workers 
in  Japan;  33  of  those  are  supported  by  the  General 
Department  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  while  Woman's 
Work  supports  14.  The  women  missionaries  and  19  of 
the  workers  of  the  Department  of  General  Work,  are 
engaged  in  educational  activities,  while  14  missionaries 
prosecute  evangelistic  work. 

At  the  present  time  our  work  covers  most  of  the  impor- 
tant cities,  towns,  and  villages  in  the  territory  wherein  we 
operate.  The  following  is  a  list  of  places  in  which  we 
maintain  churches :  Kyoto,  Osaka,  Nishinomiya,  Ashiya, 
Wakinohama,  Oishi,  Hyogo,  Wadamiya,  Himeji,  Okay- 
ama,  Kure,  Hiroshima,  Fukushima,  Yanai,  Oshima, 
Tokuyama,  Migajiri,  Matsuyama,  Oita,  Beppu,  Nakatsu 
and  Uwajima. 

«    *  * 

The  following  are  institutions  maintained  by  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  Japan: 

1.  Kwansei  Gakuin,  Kobe.  This  is  one  of  the  largest 
Methodist  schools  in  the  world,  having  an  annual  attend- 
ance of  nearly  1,800  students.  In  1923  its  graduates 
numbered  2,000.  The  value  of  our  share  of  the  property 
is  $824,956.  Its  teaching  staff  is  composed  of  twelve 
foreigners  and  seventy-two  Japanese. 

116 


JAPAN 


2.  Hiroshima  Girls  School,  Hiroshima.  This  is  a 
famous  institution  for  the  training  of  girls.  Today  it  has 
four  departments:  college,  high  school,  primary,  and 
kindergarten,  with  800  students,  and  property  valued  at 
$107,340.  It  has  eight  foreign  and  thirty-six  Japanese 
teachers. 

3.  Palmore  Institute,  Kobe.  This  institution,  the  first 
educational  work  undertaken  by  our  Church  in  Japan, 
was  founded  37  years  ago.  Its  teaching  is  done  at  night 
and  its  popularity  is  such  that  we  can  admit  only  ten  per 
cent  of  those  who  apply.    Its  property  is  worth  $95,000. 

4.  Frazer  Institute,  Hiroshima.  This  is  a  night  school 
for  young  men,  teaching  English,  Music,  and  the  Bible. 
The  latest  statistics  show  230  students,  6  foreign  and  2 
Japanese  teachers,  and  a  building  worth  $3,000. 


The  Woman's  Missionary  Council  supports  in  Japan 
14  missionaries  with  an  annual  maintenance  budget  of 
approximately  $16,000.  The  property  of  every  sort  is 
worth  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars.  The  follow- 
ing items  constitute  a  general  view  of  the  work  being 
carried  on  by  the  women. 

1.  Lambuth  Training  School  for  Christian  Workers, 
Osaka.  In  1890  the  women  founded  a  Bible  School  in 
Kobe.  In  1895  a  kindergarten  was  opened  in  Hiroshima. 
In  1921  the  two  were  united  in  Osaka. 

2.  Commercial  School  for  Women,  Kobe.  This  is 
another  Centenary  enterprise,  founded  in  1921,  although 
it  was  formerly  a  department  of  Palmore  Institute.  The 
school  not  only  trains  women  in  commercial  subjects  but 
is  also  a  center  of  evangelistic  work  for  women. 

3.  Social  Evangelistic  Center,  Oita.    This  institution 

117 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


is  called  by  the  Japanese  "the  house  of  neighborly  love." 
It  is  what  its  name  implies,  a  center  of  evangelism. 

4.  Social  Evangelistic  Center,  Kure.  This  is  another 
Centenary  enterprise  similar  to  the  one  mentioned  above, 
although  its  new  buildings  have  not  yet  been  provided. 

5.  The  Woman's  Missionary  Council  concentrates 
on  reaching  the  children  of  Japan  through  kindergartens. 
At  the  present  time  24  kindergartens  are  maintained  and 
these  enroll  1,200  children. 

6.  The  Woman's  Missionary  Council  supports  32 
Bible  women  in  Japan.  They  visit  the  homes  of  the 
countryside  and  are  responsible  for  thousands  of  con- 
versions. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

It  would  require  a  volume  to  detail  all  of  the  accom- 
plishments of  the  Centenary  in  Japan.  The  work  has 
gone  forward  by  leaps  and  bounds.  The  Centenary  task, 
however,  is  not  finished.  For  the  Department  of  General 
Work  the  sum  of  $425,000  remains  unpaid  on  the  Cen- 
tenary askings.  When  these  funds  are  available  $175,000 
will  be  used  in  educational  work  and  $250,000  will  be 
devoted  to  evangelism. 

*     *  4fe 

The  Woman's  Work  has  a  deficit  of  $116,5B7  in  the 
Centenary  askings.  This  money  is  imperatively  de- 
manded and  if  it  is  not  secured  the  women  will  experience 
difficulty  in  maintaining  their  work.  The  various  items 
for  which  this  money  will  be  used  may  be  mentioned  as 
follows : 

Increased  maintenance — budget  1924  $  14,943 

Missionaries'  salaries,  taxes  and  helpers   8,284 

Kindergartens   2,690 


118 


JAPAN 


Maintenance — Lambuth  Training  School   7,585 

Commercial  School — Kobe,  maintenance   1,900 

New  missionaries   4,300 

Kure — Evangelistic  Center : 

Maintenance    1,385 

Land  and  building   17,500 

New  missionary  home .   8,000 

Increased  maintenance  and  evangelistic  centers.  50,000 


Total  $116,587 


*     *  * 

One  who  is  cognizant  of  the  new  work  projected  by 
the  Centenary  in  Japan  and  who  realizes  the  fact  that  our 
expenses  have  thereby  been  vastly  increased  without  a 
corresponding  increase  in  our  missionary  income,  will 
ask  anxiously  "After  the  Centenary — What?"  The  answer 
is  at  hand:  "After  the  Centenary  our  income  for  Japan 
must  be  increased  $143,242  per  year,  or  we  will  be  under 
the  necessity  of  curtailing  our  work  and  withdrawing  oui 
workers."  This  is  a  serious  fact.  We  have  made  most 
remarkable  strides  in  the  winning  of  this  powerful 
heathen  empire  for  Christ.  Shall  we  now  take  our  hand 
from  the  plow  and  turn  backward,  leaving  Japan  to 
plunge  again  into  the  darkness  of  heathen  despair  and  to 
develop  her  civilization  on  a  pagan  basis  until  it  inun- 
dates the  Orient  and  threatens  the  whole  world?  It  must 
not  be.  Methodists  will  surely  respond  to  this  appeal  and 
save  our  work  in  the  island  empire. 


Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Japan,  General  $425,000 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Japan,  Women   116,587 

Deficit  in  annual  maintenance,  General   143,242 


119 


TERRITORY   OF   THE    METHODIST   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH, 
SOUTH,  IN  KOREA. 

(*)=Major  Centers.  (O^Other  centers 


120 


CHAPTER  XVII 


KOREA 


OREA  is  ancient — more  ancient  even  than  Japan. 


In  the  year  1122  B.  C,  according  to  tradition, 


the  noble  Ki-tse  left  China  with  5,000  followers 
and  established  a  kingdom  in  Korea.  We  have  an 
authentic  history  dating  from  108  B.  C,  on  which  date 
Korea  was  annexed  to  China.  About  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era  it  split  into  three  kingdoms,  but  a  thou- 
sand years  later  we  find  it  practically  united  again  and 
developing  a  Chinese  civilization. 


From  China  Korea  received  the  Buddhist  religion.  Its 
primitive  faith  had  been  Shamanism,  and  remnants  of 
this  degraded  superstition  still  persist  in  the  Korean  back- 
woods. Shamanism  represents  the  imaginations  and  ter- 
rors of  the  ignorant  savage  regarding  the  supernatural. 
Its  priest  is  the  Shaman,  corresponding  to  the  African 
sorcerer  and  the  Indian  medicine  man.  It  resembles  more 
than  anything  else  the  fetishism  of  the  lowest  aborigines. 

After  Buddhism  became  paramount  it  developed  a 
powerful  and  rigid  ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  Then 
about  the  beginning  of  the  15th  century  a  movement 
which  corresponded  to  the  Protestant  Reformation  in 
Europe  took  place  in  Korea.  The  people  revolted 
against  Buddhism,  founded  a  native  Korean  dynasty, 
and  expelled  all  the  priests.  Although  remnants  of 
Buddhism  still  linger  in  Korea,  and  there  are  a  few 
ignorant  priests  of  that  faith,  its  influence  is  practi- 
cally negligible. 


121 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Korea  never  welcomed  foreign  influences.  The  country 
was  nearly  2,000  years  old  before  Europe  ever  heard  of 
it.  A  Jesuit  missionary  named  Cespedes  entered  the 
country  in  1594  but  seems  to  have  made  little  impression 
and  brought  back  no  information  to  the  outside  world. 
In  1653  some  Dutch  sailors  were  shipwrecked  on  the 
Korean  coast  and  it  was  through  them  that  Europe  ob- 
tained the  first  knowledge  of  the  hermit  kingdom. 

Other  Catholic  missionaries  planted  their  form  of 
Christianity  in  the  peninsula  in  1784,  and  in  1835  French 
missionaries  reenforced  them.  Of  course  these  mission- 
aries met  steady  persecution  but  they  persevered  and 
seem  to  have  made  a  little  headway. 

But  in  1864  came  a  fiercer  blast  of  persecution.  The 
king  died  childless  and  his  oldest  widow,  desiring  to 
prevent  her  nephew  from  ascending  the  throne  to  which 
he  was  heir,  nominated  in  his  stead  Prince  Yi,  the  ex- 
emperor  who  died  in  1919.  The  new  king  was  then  a 
twelve-year-old  boy  and  his  father  became  regent. 

The  regent  was  a  savage  reactionary  and  he  at  once 
determined  to  extirpate  all  the  foreigners  in  Korea. 
He  let  loose  fire  and  blood  against  them.  A  French 
expedition  was  sent  against  him  in  1886  but  it  proved  a 
failure.  The  same  year  an  American  schooner,  the 
General  Sherman,  was  stranded  on  the  Korean  coast 
and  the  whole  crew  murdered.  An  American  expedi- 
tion in  1871  met  with  no  success.  Many  nations  at- 
tempted to  force  Korea  to  accept  their  commerce,  but 
in  vain.  Japan  finally  succeeded  in  gaining  an  entry  in 
1876  and  in  1882  the  Americans  were  allowed  to  enter. 
Other  peoples  were  let  in  from  time  to  time;  Great 
Britain  and  Germany  in  1883,  Italy  and  Russia  in  1884, 
France  in  1886,  Austria  in  1892,  and  China  in  1897. 


122 


KOREA 


The  recent  history  of  Korea  has  been  sad.  In  1894 
China  attempted  to  assume  her  ancient  suzerainty  over 
Korea.  This  action  was  disputed  by  Japan  and  in  the 
war  that  followed  China  was  defeated.  In  1895  Korea 
proclaimed  her  independence  and  in  1897  the  king  pro- 
claimed the  country  an  empire  under  the  name  of  Dai 
Han. 

After  the  war  with  China  the  encroachments  of  Japan 
were  constant.  Russia  also  looked  upon  Korea  with 
envious  eyes  and  the  Russo-Japanese  war  resulted  in 
1904-05.  Russia  was  defeated.  Japan's  preponderating 
interests  in  Korea  were  acknowledged,  and  in  spite  of  the 
violent  opposition  of  the  Koreans  themselves  a  strong 
Japanese  "protectorate"  was  established  in  November 
1905. 

This  meant  the  downfall  of  the  Korean  Empire.  The 
Japanese  "protectorate"  soon  developed  into  actual 
control.  In  1910  the  Emperor  Yi  was  virtually  forced 
to  abdicate  and  surrender  all  political  power;  Korean 
territory  was  formally  annexed  to  the  Empire  of  Japan, 
the  Emperor  and  his  son  becoming  Princes  of  the  Blood 
in  the  Japanese  social  order. 

Thus  Korean  nationality  was  extinguished.  Many 
patriots  have  arisen  to  assert  her  rights  but  all  have 
been  quickly  and  severely  suppressed.  Korea  is  a  sub- 
ject nation  smarting  under  the  heel  of  the  conqueror. 
Yet  foreign  powers  acquiesced  in  Japanese  control  and 
the  Koreans  are  helpless. 

^  9 

Out  of  all  the  adverse  circumstances  of  the  past  fifty 
years  Korea  has  found  that  her  only  comfort  is  in  religion. 

123 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Her  repudiation  of  Buddhism  left  her  without  a  strongly 
entrenched  national  religion  of  her  own  and  she  has  ac- 
cordingly turned  to  Christianity.  As  in  no  other  mission 
field  in  the  world  the  revival  fires  have  been  burning  in 
Korea.  If  the  missionary  forces  continue  loyally  at  their 
task,  Korea  will  soon  be  completely  evangelized. 

The  founding  of  the  Mission  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  in  Korea  is  a  romantic  story. 
Baron  Yun  Chi  Ho,  a  Christian  nobleman,  came  to 
America  to  pursue  his  studies  and  was  a  student  at 
Vanderbilt  University  in  Nashville.  He  became  a 
Christian  and  gave  a  sum  of  money  for  a  Christian 
school  in  Korea.  Many  regarded  this  as  a  providential 
call  to  enter  Korea  and  sentiment  was  created  for  the 
enterprise.  Mrs.  J.  T.  Fowler  gave  $500  with  which  to 
open  work  in  Korea.  The  young  people  of  the  Epworth 
Leagues  became  interested  and  agreed  to  finance  the 
enterprise  as  they  had  previously  pioneered  in  Cuba. 

Bishop  Hendrix  was  in  1895  presiding  over  our  mis- 
sions in  China  and  Japan.  In  that  year  he  sent  Dr.  C.  F. 
Reid  from  China  to  Seoul  and  Rev.  C.  P.  Collyer  from 
the  same  field  to  Songdo. 

Our  first  Methodist  society  was  organized  in  Korea  in 
1897.  Since  that  time  wonderful  results  have  accrued. 
The  saddened  Koreans  turned  to  religion  for  solace  and 
strength,  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  revivals  of  mod- 
ern times  swept  the  hermit  kingdom.  By  multiplied 
thousands  the  people  have  turned  to  Christ.  Whole  vil- 
lages, steeped  for  centuries  in  heathenism,  have  been  re- 
deemed and  embraced  our  holy  faith  with  unanimity. 
The  missionary  problem  in  Korea  is  not  how  to  secure 

124 


KOREA 


the  conversion  of  the  people,  but  how  to  train  and  con- 
serve them  after  they  have  accepted  Christ.  Southern 
Methodism  alone  today  enrolls  25,000  adherents  in  Korea, 
including  full  members,  probationers,  and  enrolled 
seekers. 

The  Missionary  Centenary  gave  an  added  emphasis 
to  the  Korean  revival.  Preaching  bands  toured  the 
villages  and  countryside,  conducting  meetings  where  the 
name  of  Christ  had  never  before  been  heard.  It  was  a 
modern  Pentecost.  Between  1919  and  1924  it  is  estimated 
that  25,000  persons  were  converted  and  14,000  of  the 
number  actually  became  adherents  of  Methodism. 

This  Centenary  campaign  would  doubtless  have  com- 
pletely Christianized  the  territory  in  which  we  are 
working  if  it  could  have  been  continued.  The  Cen- 
tenary pledges  were  not  all  paid  in  full,  however,  and 
the  preaching  bands  had  to  be  discontinued.  The 
evangelistic  campaign  naturally  declined.  This  of  it- 
self was  tragedy  enough  to  have  caused  contrition  of 
conscience  on  the  part  of  any  person  who  had  contrib- 
uted to  it  by  failing  to  pay  his  Centenary  pledge,  but 
it  is  made  doubly  pathetic  by  the  fact  that  we  have 
been  unable  to  take  care  of  the  converts  we  have  made. 
The  tragedy  of  the  unpaid  pledge  in  Korea  is  in  reality 
a  scandal  to  our  good  name  as  a  Church. 

^ 

For  example,  we  promised  the  native  Christians  in  the 

villages  newly  converted  from  heathenism  that  we  would 
assist  them  in  building  houses  of  worship,  giving  them 

two  dollars  when  they  raised  one.    In  their  loyalty  and 

devotion  these  converts  secured  ground,  hauled  lumber 

from  the  forests,  brought  clay  and  other  requisites,  and 

in  dependence  upon  our  word  prepared  to  erect  their 

125 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Churches.  But  we  were  unable  to  keep  our  promise. 
Today  in  various  parts  of  Korea  the  material  brought  by 
the  converts  lie  rotting  upon  the  ground,  while  the  people 
themselves  are  gradually  losing  faith  in  our  integrity  as 
a  Church.  This  situation  ought  to  bring  a  blush  of  shame 
to  the  cheek  of  every  Methodist  who  has  failed  to  pay  his 
Centenary  pledge. 

The  negligence  of  some  of  our  people  has  even  caused 
us  to  break  faith  with  the  noble  Baron  Yun,  our  first  and 
leading  Korean  member,  who  has  made  untold  sacrifices 
and  endured  terrible  persecution  for  his  country  and 
faith.  Baron  Yun  is  the  principal  of  our  Songdo  school, 
without  salary.  His  son  is  serving  on  the  same  basis. 
Baron  Yun  agreed  to  give  of  his  own  means  $12,500  to 
this  school  provided  we  would  furnish  a  similar  amount. 
We  accepted  his  proposition.  He  relied  upon  our  prom- 
ise and  paid  his  part  in  cash.  We  have  not  paid  ours  in 
full  because  the  Centenary  payments  were  withheld.  This 
situation  is  a  disgrace  to  our  Church.  No  milder  term 
befits  the  situation. 

What  We  Have  in  Korea 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  has  an  ex- 
tensive work  in  Korea.  It  is  organized  as  a  full-fledged 
Annual  Conference  with  five  districts,  65  charges,  487 
societies,  357  church  buildings,  and  63  parsonages.  As 
a  working  force  we  have  40  missionaries,  100  native 
preachers,  90  Bible  women  and  a  dozen  colporteurs. 
There  are  4.00  Sunday  schools  with  14,000  pupils,  207 
missionary  societies  enrolling  2,500  members,  and  29 
Epworth  Leagues  with  1,200  members.  As  stated  above, 
the  adherents  of  our  Church  number  about  25,000  and 
these  raised  approximately  $55,000  towards  self-support 
in  1923.  In  our  various  schools  we  have  nearly  11,000 
students. 


126 


KOREA 


Our  educational  work  is  noted.  The  following  insti- 
tutions may  be  especially  mentioned : 

1.  Chosen  Christian  College,  Seoul.  This  is  the  only 
real  college  in  Korea.  It  is  a  union  institution  in  which 
our  Church  cooperates  with  the  Presbyterians  and  North- 
ern Methodists. 

2.  The  Songdo  Higher  Common  School,  Songdo. 
This  was  formerly  the  Anglo-Korean  School.  Baron 
T.  H.  Yun  is  President.  It  is  a  large  institution,  having 
an  enrollment  of  about  600  boys  and  a  teaching  staff  of  27. 

3.  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Seoul.  This  is  a 
ministerial  training  school  for  native  preachers  conducted 
by  both  branches  of  American  Methodism. 

4.  Pearson  Memorial  Bible  Institute,  Seoul.  This 
is  an  institute  rather  than  a  seminary  and  trains  native 
workers  in  various  lines  of  Christian  activity. 

5.  Lambuth  Institute,  Wonsan.  This  is  an  English 
night  school  founded  by  Bishop  Lambuth  a  short  time 
before  his  death.  It  not  only  teaches  English  to  young 
Koreans  but  is  a  great  evangelistic  center. 

6.  The  Department  of  General  Work  of  the  Board  of 
Missions  maintains  twelve  boys'  common  schools  in 
various  towns  of  Korea.  These  are  similar  to  the  Songdo 
Higher  Common  School.  In  these  dozen  schools  there 
are  80  teachers  and  about  2,500  students. 

7.  Scattered  all  over  Korea  are  our  "Keulpangs,"  or 
day  schools,  for  boys.  They  are  for  the  most  part  con- 
ducted in  our  Churches  and  the  cost  of  operation  is  small. 
The  Department  of  General  Work  now  has  67  of  these 
"Keulpangs"  in  operation  and  they  employ  86  teachers 
and  enroll  2,500  students. 

* 

Quite  as  important  as  any  other  branch  of  our  work  are 

127 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


the  four  hospitals  which  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  operates  in  Korea.  In  this  heathen  king- 
dom modern  medicine  is  an  unknown  art  and  all  the 
people  must  rely  upon  the  Christian  physician.  Our  hos- 
pitals are  as  follows: 

1.  Ivey  Hospital,  Songdo.  During  one  year  this  hos- 
pital usually  gives  treatment  in  some  form  to  nearly 
15,000  people.  This  institution  is  not  only  a  hospital  but 
is  also  virtually  a  church  and  evangelistic  center.  Its 
report  for  1924  showed  3.50  conversions  in  the  hospital 
and  the  patients  established  six  new  groups  of  believers. 

2.  Wonsan  Christian  Hospital,  Wonsan.  In  1924  it 
admitted  623  patients  but  its  outpatient  department 
treated  6,426  new  patients  and  14,063  former  patients. 
The  staff  performed  928  operations. 

3.  Choon  Chun  Hospital,  Choon  Chun.  This  insti- 
tution parallels  the  work  being  done  by  the  other  hos- 
pitals. 

4.  Severance  Hospital,  Seoul.  The  distinctive  feature 
of  the  Severance  Hospital  is  the  medical  college  which 
is  conducted  in  connection  with  it. 

■©  * 

The  work  of  the  women  of  Southern  Methodism  in 
Korea  has  been  steady  and  successful.  They  have  28 
missionaries  in  Korea  at  the  present  time  and  their  prop- 
erty is  valued  at  $367,192.  The  following  is  a  general 
survey  of  the  institutions  they  are  maintaining  and  the 
work  they  are  carrying  on : 

1.  Carolina  Institute,  Seoul.  This  High  School  for 
girls  has  an  enrollment  of  500  students. 

2.  Holston  Institute,  Songdo.  The  work  of  this 
school  is  similar  to  that  of  Carolina  Institute.  It  is  some- 
what larger,  however,  having  nearly  800  students. 

128 


KOREA 


3.  Lucy  Cuninggim  Girls'  School,  Wonsan.  In  this 
institution  450  girls  are  enrolled.  It  has  a  beautiful  lo- 
cation with  a  missionary  home  and  two  school  buildings. 

4.  Union  Bible  Training  School,  Seoul.  This  is  a 
Centenary  enterprise  conducted  in  union  with  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  It  is  a  Methodist  training  cen- 
ter for  women  desiring  to  enter  Christian  service. 

5.  Social  Evangelistic  Center,  Seoul.  This  is  a  great 
social  service  institution,  built  in  1920  by  the  Centenary. 
It  is  a  union  enterprise  of  both  Northern  and  Southern 
Methodism,  and  is  the  center  of  evangelistic  work  for 
women. 

6.  Social  Evangelistic  Center,  Songdo.  This  is  an- 
other Centenary  enterprise,  founded  in  1921.  Its  activi- 
ties are  similar  to  the  institution  at  Seoul. 

7.  District  Evangelistic  Work.  An  evangelistic 
worker  is  assigned  to  each  district,  and  these  superintend 
the  work  of  120  Bible  women  and  a  large  number  of 
country  day  schools,  or  "Keulpangs,"  for  girls. 

8.  City  Evangelistic  Work.  A  work  similar  to  the 
above  mentioned  district  evangelistic  activity  is  conducted 
in  the  cities  of  Chul  Won,  Wonsan,  and  Choon  Chun. 
Five  missionaries  are  engaged  in  this  type  of  work. 

9.  Medical  work.  The  women  are  engaged  in  medi- 
cal work  in  connection  with  Severance  Hospital  at  Seoul, 
Ivey  Hospital  at  Songdo,  the  Choon  Chun  Hospital,  and 
the  Wonsan  Hospital.  Nurses  are  provided  for  these 
institutions.  In  Ivey  Hospital  a  nurses'  training  school 
is  maintained  and  a  nurses'  home  has  been  built  by  the 
Centenary. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

All  over  Korea  our  work  is  suffering  because  the  Cen- 
tenary pledges  have  not  been  paid.    Conditions  are  par- 

129 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


ticularly  distressing  at  the  Songdo  School,  Carolina  In- 
stitute, Holston  Institute,  Lucy  Cuninggim  Girls'  School, 
and  in  many  of  the  villages  where  the  native  Christians 
are  unable  to  secure  houses  of  worship. 

The  amount  due  on  the  unpaid  Centenary  askings  for 
Korea,  General  Work,  is  $329,150.  When  this  money  has 
been  secured  it  will  be  applied  to  the  various  types  of 
work  in  the  following  proportions: 

Evangelistic   $167,250 

Educational    101,750 

Medical    60,150 

For  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work  the  total  sum 
of  $140,939  is  due  on  the  Centenary  askings.  This  is  im- 
peratively demanded  and  the  work  of  the  women  is  suf- 
fering because  it  is  not  available.  Its  application  will  be 
as  follows : 

Missionaries'  salaries,  taxes  and  personal  helpers.$  24,819 


Increased  maintenance  (1924)   28,000 

City  Evangelistic  Center,  Seoul,  maintenance.  .  2,250 
Union  Bible  Training  School,  Seoul,  mainte- 
nance   2,500 

Carolina  Institute,  Seoul,  equipment   1,500 

Water  Gate  School,  Seoul,  building   5,000 

Severance  Hospital,  Seoul,  (share)   1,400 

Chul  Won — land  and  evangelistic  center   2,500 

City  Evangelistic  Center,  Songdo   3,940 

Nurse  Training  School,  Ivey  Hospital,  Songdo  3,000 

City  Evangelistic  Center,  Wonsan   3,000 

Lucy  Cuninggim  High  School,  maintenance.  .  .  .  7,930 

City  Evangelistic  Center,  Choon  Chun   800 

Country  Day  School,  Choon  Chun  District.  .  .  .  1,800 

Kindergarten — Choon  Chun  District   2,500 

Increased  maintenance  and  building   50,000 


Total  $140,939 

130 


KOREA 


As  set  forth  above  the  Centenary  has  built  several  great 
institutions  in  Korea.  It  has  added  32  new  missionaries 
to  our  staff.  In  view  of  the  sweeping  revival  the  stoppage 
of  our  evangelistic  work  was  especially  distressing.  It 
should  be  revived  as  soon  as  possible  that  Korea  may  be 
won  for  Christ. 

Of  course  this  new  program  could  not  possibly  be 
maintained  on  the  old  budget.  It  is  expected  that  the 
contributions  of  the  native  Christians  will  increase,  but 
on  the  lowest  possible  estimate  it  will  require  $110,704 
per  year  in  new  money  over  and  above  the  amount  re- 
ceived from  the  regular  assessment  to  maintain  our  work 
in  Korea  on  the  present  basis.  Certainly  Southern  Meth- 
odists will  respond  and  furnish  this  amount  that  the  her- 
mit kingdom  may  be  redeemed. 


Summary 


Unpaid  Centenary  for  Korea,  General . 
Unpaid  Centenary  for  Korea,  Women . . 
Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General 


.$329,150 
.  140,939 
.  110,704 


• 

131 


1 


132 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


MEXICO 


F  all  the  lands  on  earth  Mexico  should  appeal  most 


strongly  to  Southern  people,  because  of  its  prox- 


imity. The  southern  portion  of  the  United  States 
is  divided  from  the  northern  portion  of  Mexico  by  an 
imaginary  line  1,833  miles  long.  East  of  El  Paso  the 
Rio  Grande  flows  between  the  two  Republics,  but  west- 
ward there  is  no  division  whatever  save  an  occasional 
concrete  post  and  a  few  uncertain  stretches  of  wire  fence. 
Mexico  is  our  nearest  neighbor  and  it  is  therefore  nat- 
ural that  we  should  be  interested  in  her  welfare. 

Mexico  has  had  a  turbulent  past.  Her  present  is  pa- 
thetic enough.  We  may  well  believe,  however,  that  her 
future  is  full  of  promise. 

The  beginnings  of  Mexican  history  are  shrouded  in 
mystery.  Tradition  dates  back  to  the  year  668  A.  D. 
when  an  aboriginal  people  called  the  Toltecs  inhabited 
Mexico  and  developed  a  considerable  civilization.  Sev- 
eral hundred  years  later  came  the  Aztecs. 

Then  came  the  Spanish,  and  with  them  came  a  long 
era  of  oppression  and  rapine.  In  Mexico  as  in  Cuba 
and  elsewhere,  the  Spaniards  regarded  the  subject 
people  as  legitimate  objects  of  prey  and  both  Church 
and  State  combined  in  a  policy  of  extortion  and 
tyranny. 


The  internal  discord  in  Mexico  has  prevented  its  de- 
velopment. It  has  been  an  international  scandal.  Dip- 
lomatic relations  have  been  severed  by  the  United  States 
and  various  European  countries,  and  on  more  than  one 


133 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


occasion  during  the  past  few  years  our  government  has 
been  on  the  brink  of  war  with  our  southern  neighbor. 
Property  rights  have  been  rendered  unstable  and  human 
life  unsafe.  The  miserable  peons  are  plunged  deeper 
and  deeper  into  the  already  abject  poverty,  and  yet 
Mexico  is  not  naturally  a  poor  country.  Vast  wealth  is 
hers,  but  the  instability  of  the  government  and  the  igno- 
rance and  poverty  of  the  masses  has  made  it  impossible 
to  develop  her  resources. 

The  Catholic  Church  and  foreign  capitalists  have 
taken  advantage  of  the  situation  to  grasp  much  of  the 
wealth  of  the  country.  It  is  said  that  $2,000,000,000  of 
American  capitalists  is  now  invested  in  Mexico,  and  to 
protect  this  investment  interested  persons  have  urged 
American  intervention  in  Mexican  affairs.  Mexico  has 
been  and  is  in  a  pitiable  plight  and  deserves  the 
sympathy  rather  than  the  censure  of  the  world  in  her 
attempt  to  get  her  resources  from  the  grip  of  a  foreign 
Church  and  foreign  capitalists. 

^£^> 

Mexico  has  never  been  able  to  establish  and  long  main- 
tain a  stable  government.  It  has  always  been  on  the  verge 
of  anarchy.  In  1521  the  country  was  conquered  by  the 
Spanish.  For  three  hundred  years  it  was  ruled  by  vice- 
roys "whose  chief  purpose  seems  to  have  been  the  robbery 
of  the  mines  and  of  the  people  for  the  benefit  of  them- 
selves and  the  Spanish  government."  At  the  beginning 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  however,  the  Mexicans  awoke 
to  the  debasing  and  humiliating  conditions  that  had  been 
bequeathed  by  Spain  and  in  1810  the  patriot-priest 
Hidalgo  revolted. 

Success  was  achieved  in  1821  when  the  Spanish  for- 
mally acknowledged  Mexican  independence.  In  1822 
General  Augustin  Iturbite  declared  himself  Emperor 

134 


MEXICO 


but  in  two  years  he  was  driven  out  and  a  Republic  was 
established.  In  1864  the  Catholic  party,  through  Euro- 
pean influence,  gave  the  throne  to  the  Archduke  Ferdi- 
nand Maximillian  of  Austria.  He  was  shot  in  1867  and 
Benito  Juarez  took  the  reins  for  the  second  time. 

The  successor  of  Juarez  fled  in  1876  and  General  Por- 
firio  Diaz  became  president  and  ruled,  with  the  exception 
of  four  years,  with  a  rod  of  iron  until  1911  when  he  was 
virtually  forced  to  resign. 

Francisco  Madero  followed  and  was  murdered  in  1913, 
when  the  notorious  General  Victoriano  Huerta  became 
president.  A  year  later  civil  war  broke  out  and  Huerta 
was  succeeded  by  General  Carranza,  who  in  turn  was 
forced  to  flee  and  murdered  in  1920.  Since  that  time  two 
other  revolutions  have  been  staged  in  Mexico  but  they 
have  not  been  able  to  overturn  the  constituted  government. 

Mexico  has  an  area  af  767,198  square  miles  and  is 
divided  into  twenty-eight  states  corresponding  in  a  gen- 
eral way  to  the  states  of  the  American  Union.  The  popu- 
lation is  approximately  15,000,000,  although  the  inac- 
curacy of  the  census  returns  makes  it  impossible  to  arrive 
at  the  exact  number  of  people. 

This  population  is  polyglot.  One  finds  descendants  of 
all  the  various  peoples  who  have  ever  lived  in  the  coun- 
try during  its  long  history.  An  analysis  in  1900  showed 
that  only  19%  of  all  the  people  were  white,  38%  were 
Indians,  and  43%  were  mixed  breeds  of  various  kinds. 
The  population  divides  into  seven  classes:  (1).  Span- 
iards; (2).  native  Creoles  or  mixed  whites;  (3).  Indians; 
(4).  Mestizos,  or  mixed  whites  and  Indians;  (5).  Mu- 
lattoes,  or  mixed  whites  and  Negroes;  (6).  Zamboos,  or 
mixed  Indians  and  Negroes;  (7).  Negroes.   Out  of  such 

135 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


a  conglomerate  mass  as  this  no  distinctive  racial  type 
emerges  and  this  makes  more  difficult  the  work  of  Christ- 
ianization  and  progress. 

Illiteracy  among  the  Mexican  people  is  appalling.  In 
fact,  it  is  wellnigh  universal.  From  85  to  90%  of  all 
the  people  are  said  to  be  unable  to  read  or  write.  This 
is  an  illustration  of  Mexico's  great  need. 

Mexico  would  doubtless  claim  to  be  a  Christian  coun- 
try, but  its  Christianity  is  the  most  degraded  form  to 
be  found  anywhere  on  earth  at  the  present  time.  It  is 
the  Roman  Catholicism  of  Spain  propagated  and  bear- 
ing its  fruitage  among  an  illiterate  people. 

^      9  £t 

The  Catholic  religion  came  to  Mexico  with  the  Span- 
ish near  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century,  supplanting 
the  nature-worship  and  Fetishism  of  the  Aztec  Indians. 
In  the  process,  however,  as  was  but  natural,  elements  of 
the  paganism  went  over  into  Christianity  and  adulterated 
it.  This  adulteration  pertains  to  this  day.  "A  large 
percentage  of  the  natives,"  says  the  Encyclopedia  Britan- 
nica,  "may  still  be  considered  semi-pagan,  the  gods  of 
their  ancestors  being  worshipped  in  secret,  and  the  forms 
and  tenets  of  the  dominant  faith,  which  they  but  faintly 
comprehend,  being  largely  adulterated  with  superstitions 
and  practices  of  pagan  origin."  The  truthfulness  of  these 
words  may  be  verified  by  any  traveller  in  the  interior 
of  Mexico. 

No  sooner  had  the  priesthood  established  itself  in 
Mexico  than  it  set  up  the  dreaded  Spanish  Inquisition, 
and  this  institution  was  not  suppressed  until  1820.  The 
Inquisition  converted  persons  to  the  orthodox  faith  by 
force,  employing  the  stake,  the  lash,  the  thumbscrew, 
and  gibbet  as  evangelistic  agencies.   In  the  City  of 

136 

i 


MEXICO 


Mexico  the  Alameda  Park  is  pointed  out  as  the  spot 
formerly  used  by  the  Catholic  Inquisition  as  a  burning 
place  or  scene  of  torture. 

&      *  45 

By  the  middle  of  the  century  Mexico  discovered  that 
to  save  herself  it  was  necessary  to  break  the  grip  of  Rome. 
The  struggle  began  in  1856,  when  the  Jesuits  were  ex- 
pelled, and  has  continued  until  the  present  time.  In  1859 
a  law  was  passed  providing  for  the  separation  of  Church 
and  State.  In  1860  all  the  male  religious  orders  were 
driven  out  and  the  female  orders  were  suppressed  in  1874. 

4^ 

While  the  government  has  succeeded  to  a  large  extent 
in  freeing  itself  from  Roman  domination,  the  grip  of  the 
Church  upon  the  rank  and  file  of  the  people  has  not 
relaxed.  It  still  holds  the  masses  in  virtual  bondage.  A 
studied  attempt  has  been  made  to  keep  the  Bible  out  of 
their  hands  and  the  burning  of  Bibles  distributed  by  Prot- 
estants has  been  a  common  occurrence. 

The  Catholic  Church  has  itself  acknowledged  the 
degeneracy  of  its  type  of  religion  in  Mexico.  In  1865  a 
representative  of  the  Vatican  officially  visited  the 
country  and  reported  to  the  Pope  that  religion  was 
little  better  than  idolatry  and  that  many  priests  lived 
in  open  and  flagrant  immorality.  This  delegate  de- 
clared that  numbers  of  the  priests  refused  to  admit 
him  to  their  homes  because  they  did  not  want  him  to 
see  their  illegitimate  children. 

In  the  old  days  it  was  a  common  occurrence  for 
thieves  and  criminals  to  purchase  immunity  from  the 
priest  and  the  "Bull  of  Composition"  was  issued  to 
regulate  such  traffic,  this  Bull  declaring  that  no  in- 
dividual thief  could  obtain  more  than  50  licenses  in  one 


137 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


year.  Even  as  late  as  1914  it  was  said  that  the  priests 
openly  sold  "indulgences"  or  virtual  permissions  for 
the  people  to  commit  various  sins. 

*   «  * 

Mexico  never  heard  a  Protestant  gospel  until  about 
60  years  ago.  The  introduction  of  Southern  Methodism 
was  providential.  The  first  Mexican  Protestant  was 
Sostenes  Juarez.  He  had  lost  faith  in  his  Church,  but 
finding  a  Bible  which  had  been  brought  from  Europe, 
he  was  converted  and  embraced  the  Protestant  faith  with- 
out any  guidance  whatever  save  that  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  < 
He  succeeded  in  reaching  seven  men  and  in  1865  they 
held  the  first  Protestant  service  in  a  private  house  and 
organized  the  first  Protestant  Church  in  Mexico. 

About  the  same  time  Alejo  Hernandez,  who  had  joined 
the  Mexican  army  to  avoid  becoming  a  priest,  was  taken 
prisoner  by  the  forces  of  Maximillian  and  drifted  across 
the  Rio  Grande.  He  was  converted  in  the  Southern 
Methodist  Church  at  Brownsville,  Texas,  and  imme- 
diately returned  to  Mexico  to  preach  Christ  among  his 
people. 

He  encountered  severe  persecution,  and  returning  to 
Texas,  he  became  a  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  and  was  appointed  to  a  Mexican  Mission 
at  Laredo.  In  1873  Bishop  Keener  commissioned  him 
to  proceed  to  the  City  of  Mexico  and  establish  a  Mission 
there.  When  Bishop  Keener  and  Hernandez  reached  the 
City  of  Mexico  they  found  the  above  mentioned  Sos- 
tenes Juarez,  who  identified  himself  with  the  new  Mis- 
sion and  served  it  faithfully  until  his  death  in  1891. 

In  1923  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  com- 
pleted fifty  years  of  missionary  work  in  the  Republic 
of  Mexico  and  celebrated  its  golden  jubilee.  During 

138 


MEXICO 


that  fifty  years  there  have  been  wonderful  works  of 
grace.  Heroism  and  sacrifice  have  been  demanded,  but 
steadily  the  Gospel  makes  headway  among  the  people 
and  in  due  time  the  Kingdom  will  come  into  its  own  in 
Mexico. 

What  We  Have  in  Mexico 

The  territory  allotted  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  comprises  the  states  of  Chihuahua,  Coa- 
huila,  Nuevo  Leon,  Durango,  and  the  frontier  portions  of 
Sonora  and  Tamaulipas.  This  is  the  entire  northern  part 
of  the  Republic  and  contains  a  population  of  about 
2,225,000  people  for  whose  evangelization  we  are  respon- 
sible. 

Our  work  there  is  organized  into  a  regular  Annual 
Conference  having  four  districts,  49  pastoral  charges,  and 
78  societies.  Our  membership  is  about  4,000.  There  are 
27  Epworth  Leagues  with  1,000  members,  68  Sunday 
schools  with  4,500  members,  and  21  missionary  societies 
with  600  members.  Our  Church  owns  32  houses  of  wor- 
ship worth  half  a  million  dollars  and  eighteen  parsonages 
valued  at  $70,000. 

The  major  centers  wherein  our  Church  is  working 
are  Monterrey,  Chihuahua,  Durango,  Parral,  Torreon, 
Piedras  Negras,  Saltillo,  and  Montemorellos.  Branching 
out  from  these  centers  we  have  occupied  about  fifty  of  the 
more  prominent  towns  and  villages  in  our  territory. 

4^ 

The  schools  maintained  by  the  Department  of  General 
Work  of  the  Board  of  Missions  are  as  follows: 

1.  Instituto  Laurens,  Monterrey.  This  is  a  really 
great  school  with  property  valued  at  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  million  dollars. 

139 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


2.  Instituto  del  Pueblo,  Piedras  Negras.  This  is  a 
smaller  institution  but  is  rendering  an  excellent  service. 

3.  Colegio  Industrial  Agricola,  Montemorellos.  This 
is  an  agricultural  and  industrial  school  of  the  type  most 
needed  by  the  Mexican  people. 

4.  Colegio  Elliott,  Torreon.  This  school  has  a  splendid 
building,  an  enrollment  of  135,  and  a  teaching  staff  of 
ten. 

5.  Effie  Eddington  Institute,  El  Paso.  Although 
located  in  the  United  States,  this  institution  is  operated 
by  the  Foreign  Department.  It  is  a  training  school  for 
girls. 

6.  Lydia  Patterson  Institute,  El  Paso.  This  is  a  train- 
ing school  for  boys.    Its  annual  enrollment  is  about  625. 

7.  Day  Schools.  Methodism  also  maintains  in  various 
parts  of  its  territory  day  schools  for  Mexican  children. 
At  the  present  time  we  have  13  such  schools,  operated 
mainly  in  connection  with  the  Churches.  They  enroll 
575  pupils  and  employ  29  teachers. 

^  4fc 

Our  hospital  property  in  Mexico  is  valued  at  nearly 
$2,000,000.    The  institutions  are  as  follows: 

1.  Monterrey  Hospital.  This  is  our  leading  hospital 
in  Mexico.  Its  report  for  1923  was  as  follows:  In- 
patients 533,  out-patients  1,623,  major  operations  287, 
clinic  treatments  4,782. 

2.  Torreon  Hospital.  This  institution  has  two  doctors 
and  two  trained  nurses,  all  from  America.  It  has  suffered 
greatly  because  Centenary  money  has  not  been  available 
to  supply  an  adequate  staff. 

140 


MEXICO 


3.  Sanatorio  Palmore,  Chihuahua.  This  is  a  small 
sanitarium  in  which  one  doctor  and  one  nurse  are  labor- 
ing. 

4.  Dispensary,  Piedras  Negras.  This  is  a  small  dis- 
pensary which  has  rendered  a  good  service  locally  but 
which  is  in  great  need  of  assistance  if  it  is  to  continue 
its  valuable  work. 

The  Department  of  Woman's  Work  of  the  Board  of 
Missions  carries  on  a  widespread  activity  in  Mexico, 
having  at  the  present  time  29  missionaries  and  property 
valued  at  $612,000.  The  following  items  constitute  a 
general  survey  of  this  work: 

1.  Colegio  Palmore,  Chihuahua.  This  school  enrolls 
nearly  500  students  annually  and  although  a  new  build- 
ing was  provided  by  the  Centenary  it  is  turning  away 
students  for  lack  of  room. 

2.  Instituto  MacDonell,  Durango.  This  school  was 
founded  in  1892  and  badly  needs  a  new  building  and 
additional  equipment. 

3.  Colegio  Progreso,  Parral.  This  is  a  noted  school 
founded  by  the  Congregational  Church  in  1882  and  taken 
over  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  1918. 

4.  Instituto  Ingles-Espanol,  Monterrey.  This  is  a  ten 
grade  school  with  175  students.  It  has  a  good  plant  but 
needs  additional  equipment. 

5.  Colegio  Roberts,  Saltillo.  Its  Centenary  Building 
is  one  of  the  finest  in  Mexico.  It  is  a  normal  school  with 
an  enrollment  of  more  than  400. 

-^S  £t 

In  addition  to  these  institutions  of  learning  the  women 
have  three  large  social-evangelistic  plants  and  render 

141 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


service  in  connection  with  the  various  hospitals.  A  mis- 
sionary nurse  is  provided  for  each  of  our  hospitals.  An- 
other missionary  gives  full  time  to  the  work  of  the 
Student  Volunteer  Movement  and  developing  the  work 
of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society  in  the  local  Churches. 
The  social-evangelistic  centers  are  as  follows : 

1.  Centro  Christiano,  Chihuahua.  This  institution 
works  mainly  among  the  women  and  girls.  Its  activities 
are  a  day  nursery,  Daily  Vacation  Bible  School,  various 
classes,  clinic,  Boy  Scouts,  home  visitation,  playgrounds, 
kindergarten,  and  similar  work. 

2.  Centro  Christiano,  Durango.  This  is  a  Centenary 
institution  opened  in  the  fall  of  1924.  It  is  now  in  the 
process  of  development  and  will  be  modeled  after  the 
institution  at  Chihuahua. 

3.  Centro  Christiano,  Monterrey.  This  is  likewise 
similar  to  the  Chihuahua  center.  Its  activities  are  largely 
the  same.  Its  building  is  rented,  however,  and  equipment 
is  greatly  needed. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

For  the  Department  of  General  Work  the  sum  due  the 
Mexican  field  on  the  Centenary  askings  is  $174,000.  It 
goes  without  saying  that  these  funds  are  badly  needed. 
Many  Churches  must  receive  aid  or  fail.  There  are  two 
notable  projects  for  which  the  money  is  badly  needed. 
The  first  is  the  building  and  equipment  of  the  hospital  in 
Monterrey.  We  face  here  an  opportunity  for  a  large 
service,  but  unless  money  can  be  made  available  soon 
this  hospital  is  likely  to  fail  of  its  larger  purpose.  The 
second  is  an  industrial  equipment  for  Lydia  Patterson 
Institute.  With  the  money  remaining  unpaid  on  the  Cen- 
tenary askings  this  school  can  be  overhauled  and  made 
a  more  efficient  instrument  in  the  extension  of  the  King- 
dom. 


142 


MEXICO 


For  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work  $151,330  re- 
mains unpaid  on  the  Centenary  askings.  The  following 
is  a  detailed  statement  of  the  unfinished  enterprises: 


Centenary  missionaries  and  salary  increases.  .  .  .$  14,850 

New  missionaries   19,250 

Centro  Christiano,  Chihuahua   13,367 

Colegio  Palmore,  Chihuahua   16,033 

Instituto  MacDonell,  Durango   4,938 

Instituto  Ingles-Espanol,  Monterrey   17,135 

Centro  Christiano,  Monterrey   8,525 

Colegio  Roberts,  Saltillo   1,770 

Colegio  Progreso,  Parral   5,766 

Unfinished  Centenary  building  program   49,696 


Total  $151,330 


©    9  4 

But  after  the  Centenary  what  is  to  become  of  our  work 
in  Mexico?  As  in  every  other  field  it  has  been  greatly 
enlarged  and  cannot  be  supported  on  the  old  budget.  The 
maintenance  expense  has  increased  from  $46,355  in  1919 
to  $107,063  in  1925.  With  new  extensions  yet  to  be  made 
it  is  estimated  that  there  will  be  a  deficit  in  annual  main- 
tenance of  $89,012  and  this  amount  must  be  raised  in  new 
money  if  we  are  to  carry  on  in  Mexico. 


Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Mexico,  General  $174,000 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Mexico,  Women   151,330 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   89,012 


143 


POLAND 


METHODIST  CENTERS  IN  POLAND. 

(*)=Major  Centers.  ( •  )=Other  Centers. 


144 


CHAPTER  XIX 


POLAND 


OLAND  is  another  resurrected  nation.    It  was  an 


independent  state  until  the  end  of  the  18th  cen- 


tury, when  the  portion  remaining  of  its  territory, 
after  several  partitions  among  the  great  powers,  was 
finally  taken  over  by  Russia.  It  is  the  land  of  Kosciuszko 
and  Pulaski,  Polish  patriots  who  fought  with  Washing- 
ton and  contributed  much  to  the  winning  of  American 
independence,  and  for  that  reason  the  country  has  a 
claim  upon  American  sympathy. 

Poland  has  been  figuring  in  European  history  for 
1,200  years.  Though  its  early  history  is  wrapped  in 
mythology  we  know  that  the  first  ruler  ascended  the 
throne  in  1842.  Even  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  ninth 
century  Germany  was  a  menace  to  the  Poles,  and  it  was 
the  necessity  of  protecting  themselves  against  the  Ger- 
mans that  led  to  the  consolidation  of  Poland  into  a  nation. 


In  the  contest  between  the  Greek  and  Roman  Catholic 
Churches  for  the  control  of  the  Slavic  peoples,  the  Poles 
were  won  by  Rome  while  Russia  was  dominated  by  the 
Eastern  Church.  This  fact  was  of  great  significance  be- 
cause it  brought  Poland  in  touch  with  western  culture 
and  allied  it  with  the  civilization  of  the  more  progressive 
nations.  It  was  because  Poland  was  regarded  as  a  west- 
ern state  that  she  was  invaded  and  devastated  in  1241  by 
the  Mongolian  hordes  from  Asia. 

In  the  17th  century  Poland  was  the  most  powerful 
state  of  central  Europe.  It  had  known  innumerable  wars 
and  its  land  had  been  drenched  with  blood,  but  it  had 


145 


fHE  TASK  AHEAD 


survived  and  was  making  experiments  in  democracy. 
Poland  may  be  regarded  as  the  pioneer  democratic  nation 
of  modern  times.  Its  Diet  was  composed  of  a  Senate 
and  a  Lower  House.  This  legislature  elected  the  king 
and  defined  his  duties.  In  fact,  Poland  was  too  demo- 
cratic for  its  own  good,  for  the  17th  century  was  not  the 
period  of  democracy  and  its  passion  for  the  rule  of  the 
people  brought  about  its  own  downfall. 

Poland  has  always  been  one  of  the  most  cultured 
nations  of  the  world.  Literature  and  art  flourished 
there  as  in  no  other  place.  To  this  day  the  Polish  peo- 
ple are  the  best  linguists  of  the  world.  The  University 
of  Cracow  was  founded  in  1364,  the  second  institution 
of  higher  learning  in  Europe,  and  is  still  flourishing, 
enrolling  last  year  more  than  5,000  students.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Wilna  was  founded  in  1578  and  has  2,500 
students  today.  Poland  now  has  seven  great  universi- 
ties, the  University  of  Warsaw  being  one  of  the  largest 
of  its  kind  in  Europe,  enrolling  nearly  10,000  students 
annually. 

^ 

On  three  different  occasions  Prussia,  Russia,  and  Aus- 
tria have  plotted  and  executed  the  dismemberment  of 
Poland.  These  nations  were  terrified  at  the  growth  of 
the  democratic  spirit  in  Poland,  and  therefore  deliber- 
ately planned  to  destroy  the  flourishing  Republic.  The 
first  partition  occurred  in  1772.  Prussia  robbed  Poland 
of  the  Baltic  territory.  Russia  took  the  three  provinces  of 
Polock,  Vitebsk,  and  Moghiley.  Austria  secured  Galicia 
and  some  bordering  territory. 

But  still  the  democratic  trend  in  Poland  continued. 
A  new  constitution  was  adopted  and  the  franchise  was 
extended  to  all  of  the  people.  "Poland  became  a  de- 
mocracy in  a  modern  sense,  with  a  constitution  that  is 

146 


POLAND 


still  considered  to  have  been  the  most  advanced  of  its 
time." 

In  1792  Catherine  the  Great  of  Russia  declared  war  on 
Poland  and  sent  an  army  of  100,000  men  against  her. 
x^ustria  joined  in.  The  Poles  appealed  for  help  to 
Frederick  William,  king  of  Prussia,  but  instead  of  ren- 
dering the  desired  assistance  he  threw  in  his  lot  with 
Austria  and  Russia.  Of  course  these  forces  were  vic- 
torious, and  the  second  partition  of  Poland  occurred. 
The  victors,  in  order  to  secure  a  semblance  of  legality 
for  their  outrageous  act,  determined  to  force  the  Polish 
Diet  to  agree  to  this  partition. 

The  Diet  was  assembled  at  Grodno.  Russian  soldiers 
were  stationed  in  the  hall  and  four  cannon  were  levelled 
at  the  meeting  chamber.  The  Russian  general  was  pres- 
ent and  demanded  that  the  act  of  ratification  be  passed, 
and  when  the  Diet  hesitated  four  members  were  arrested. 
The  members  declared  that  they  would  not  transact  any 
business  until  their  colleagues  had  been  freed.  The  Rus- 
sian officer  announced  that  no  person  would  be  allowed 
to  leave  the  chamber  until  the  treaty  was  ratified.  Hour 
after  hour  passed  in  perfect  stillness.  At  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  this  stillness  had  not  been  broken,  and 
finally  the  Russian  ambassador  announced  that  this  si- 
lence was  an  expression  of  assent.  He  accordingly  read 
the  instructions  of  Catherine  which  annexed  additional 
Polish  territory  to  Russia  and  to  Prussia. 

A    «  # 

A  mighty  rebellion  then  broke  out.  The  Poles  were 
not  able  to  stand  before  the  combined  armies  of  Prus- 
sia and  Russia.  The  fatal  battle  of  Polish  history  was 
fought  on  October  10,  1794.  Warsaw  was  taken 
and  the  inhabitants  massacred,  15,000  Poles  being 
butchered  at  one  time.   This  led  to  the  third  partition 

147 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


of  Poland  in  1795.  All  that  remained  of  the  country 
was  divided  between  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria,  and 
Poland  passed  out  of  existence. 

But  though  Poland  as  a  nation  was  no  more,  the  hopes 
and  aspirations  of  her  people  survived.  They  greeted 
the  coming  of  Napoleon  enthusiastically,  and  after  de- 
feating the  Russians  the  great  Corsican  created  an  inde- 
pendent and  tiny  Duchy  of  Warsaw,  but  at  the  infamous 
Congress  of  Vienna  in  1815  Poland  was  redistributed 
among  the  partitioning  powers.  In  1830,  again  in  1848, 
and  still  again  in  1863  the  Poles  revolted  and  attempted 
to  regain  their  freedom,  but  each  time  they  were  sup- 
pressed in  torrents  of  blood. 

Then  came  the  World  War.  The  armies  of  various 
nations  swayed  back  and  forth  across  the  fields  of  Poland 
and  this  country  was  devastated  as  were  France  and 
Belgium.  Three  hundred  towns,  20,000  villages,  2,000 
Churches,  and  billions  of  dollars  in  property  were  de- 
stroyed. The  Poles  knew  not  where  to  turn.  Now  they 
fought  with  Russia,  and  again  they  supported  the  Central 
Powers,  but  out  of  it  all  emerged  a  reunited  Poland. 
Independence  was  proclaimed  on  November  9,  1918, 
and  on  June  28,  1919,  the  Treaty  of  Versailles  recognized 
this  independence. 

But  the  land  was  in  a  terrible  condition.  Every- 
where the  country  was  devastated.  The  people  were 
impoverished  and  starving.  Multiplied  thousands  of 
orphaned  children  wandered  helplessly.  Conditions 
were  too  awful  to  describe  or  even  to  conceive.  The 
need  of  Poland  paralleled  that  of  Armenia. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  heard  the 
call  of  Poland  and  resolved  to  alleviate  its  suffering. 

148 


POLAND 

The  Missionary  Centenary  provided  the  funds  and  a 
delegation  was  sent  to  map  out  a  program  of  relief.  An 
appeal  was  sent  to  the  Church  for  clothing  and  the 
response  was  so  liberal  that  a  relief  ship  was  loaded  with 
clothing  for  the  freezing  and  starving  women  and  chil- 
dren of  Poland.    This  ship  sailed  in  1921. 

In  the  beginning  our  Church  confined  its  activities  in 
Poland  to  relief  work.  Kitchens  were  established  at 
Warsaw  and  other  places  and  multiplied  thousands  of 
people  were  saved  from  death  by  starvation  and  freezing. 
The  homeless  children  were  gathered  and  cared  for  and 
in  every  possible  way  our  workers  exerted  themselves 
to  save  the  people.  The  greatest  piece  of  relief  work 
ever  undertaken  by  Methodism  was  that  which  it  carried 
out  in  Poland. 

The  response  of  the  people  to  this  relief  activity  was 
such  that  it  was  soon  apparent  that  regular  missionary 
work  was  necessary.  The  religious  need  of  the  people 
was  even  greater  than  their  temporal  need.  Vast  numbers 
of  Jews  inhabit  Poland,  but  aside  from  these  the  great 
majority  of  the  people  are  Roman  Catholics.  Their 
Church  did  little  or  nothing  for  them  in  their  extremity 
and  our  relief  secured  an  opening  for  our  Gospel.  It  was 
resolved  that  a  permanent  Methodist  Mission  should  be 
established  in  this  new  Republic. 


Then  Rome  "sat  up  and  took  notice,"  and  the  papal 
hierarchy  determined  that  Methodism  should  never 
obtain  a  foothold  in  Poland.  Immediately  the  Catholic 
Church,  which,  of  course,  exercises  a  powerful  influ- 
ence in  the  Polish  government,  began  systematic  per- 
secution of  the  Methodists  with  the  object  of  driving 
us  from  the  country.  That  struggle  still  goes  on. 


149 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Catholicism  has  perpetrated  many  outrages  in  the  hin- 
dering of  our  work.  At  Odolanow  the  provincial  police, 
acting  under  the  direction  of  the  local  Catholic  priest, 
raided  one  of  our  orphanages,  forcibly  removed  52  boys, 
and  distributed  them  in  private  Roman  Catholic  homes. 
The  following  day,  however,  50  of  these  boys  escaped 
from  the  homes  to  which  they  had  been  sent  and  returned 
to  the  Methodist  orphanage. 

At  Pustomyty,  where  we  operated  another  orphanage 
and  had  purchased  the  property  for  cash  from  a  Senator 
in  the  Polish  Parliament,  a  Roman  Catholic  archbishop 
interfered  and  the  government  land  office  refused  to 
recognize  the  deed  and  forced  us  to  close  the  orphanage 
and  sell  the  property. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  constitution  of  Poland 
guarantees  complete  religious  liberty,  the  government 
has  refused  to  recognize  our  Church.  We  have  accord- 
ingly been  forced  to  organize  our  mission  work  on  a  com- 
mercial basis  and  transfer  all  property  to  a  commercial 
corporation  which  we  call  the  Southern  Trading  Com- 
pany. 

In  plain  defiance  of  the  Polish  constitution,  the 
Catholic  influence  has  resurrected  an  ancient  Austrian 
law  which  forbids  religious  organizations  other  than 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  to  minister  to  any  group 
save  its  own  "constituency."  Every  person  who  at- 
tends a  service  must  hold  a  membership  card,  and  the 
police  can  enter  any  service  and  eject  all  who  do  not 
have  these  cards.  Of  course  this  prohibits  evangelistic 
work.  .  Methodism  is  pushing  forward,  however,  as 
best  it  can  under  these  restrictions,  which,  be  it  re- 
peated, are  all  in  violation  of  the  Polish  constitution. 

This  situation  is  a  challenge  to  Protestanism  every- 
where.   Roman  Catholicism  must  not  be  allowed  to 


150 


POLAND 


succeed  in  reviving  the  tyranny  and  persecution  of  the 
middle  ages.  Methodism  cannot  afford  to  be  driven  from 
any  mission  field  on  earth.  Surely  the  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  will  rally  to  the 
support  of  our  work  in  Poland. 

What  We  Have  in  Poland 

Our  Mission  work  was  formally  organized  in  Poland 
in  August,  1922,  by  Bishop  W.  B.  Beauchamp  and  bears 
the  name  of  the  Poland  and  Danzig  Mission.  In  view 
of  the  obstacles  and  persecution  the  work  has  made  quite 
remarkable  progress.  All  activities  are  under  the  general 
direction  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  General  Work.  We 
have  14  missionaries,  including  wives,  and  employ  19 
native  workers.  The  Mission  has  two  presiding  elders' 
districts,  16  pastoral  charges,  12  organized  congregations, 
and  about  700  members.  There  are  7  Epworth  Leagues 
with  300  members  and  8  Sunday  schools  with  700  pupils. 

Warsaw  is  the  center  of  our  work.  In  the  northwest 
we  mantain  work  among  the  Germans  in  the  free  state  of 
Danzig.  The  other  centers  of  our  work  are  Mokotow, 
Klarysew,  Skolimow,  Lwow,  Poznan,  Grudziadz,  Chod- 
ziez,  Odolanow,  Czarnylas,  Katowice,  Torun. 

The  institutional  activities  of  the  Mission  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows: 

1.  Central  Building,  Warsaw.  This  is  a  great  head- 
quarters building  in  the  capital  city  which  houses  a  very 
remarkable  piece  of  institutional  work.  The  building 
is  open  day  and  night  and  various  lines  of  social  service 
activity  give  employment  to  hundreds  of  people. 

2.  Classical  School  for  English,  Warsaw.  This  has 
been  called  the  most  notable  school  work  in  Europe.  It 
is  housed  in  the  Central  Building  and  is  not  only  paying 

151 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


its  own  expenses  but  actually  returning  a  profit.  A  thou- 
sand students  are  enrolled. 

3.  Day  School,  Warsaw.  Although  the  Polish  gov- 
ernment has  ordered  all  day  schools  closed,  Bishop  Beau- 
champ  has  secured  a  permit  to  conduct  a  school  in  our 
Central  Building.  It  has  already  reached  large  propor- 
tions. 

4.  The  Methodist  Gymnasium,  School,  and  Orphan- 
age, Klarysew.  This  is  our  first  and  greatest  orphanage 
and  here  also  we  conduct  a  notable  school  which  enrolls 
more  than  100  students  from  some  of  the  most  influential 
families  in  Poland.  Here  we  have  a  beautiful  chapel 
(called  an  assembly  room  for  students  because  the  govern- 
ment will  not  permit  us  to  erect  a  chapel)  which  seats 
400.  • 

5.  Methodist  Health  Home,  Skolimow.  This  is  a 
sanitarium  or  rest  home  for  our  workers. 

6.  Warsaw  Clinic.  This  clinic  cares  for  the  many 
children  of  various  schools  in  Warsaw. 

7.  Day  Schools.  In  addition  to  the  large  day  school 
in  the  Central  Building  at  Warsaw,  various  other  day 
schools  are  conducted.  Four  such  schools  are  now  con- 
ducted and  they  have  a  combined  enrollment  of  about 
300. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

All  of  the  money  for  Poland  comes  from  the  Cente- 
nary. It  has  never  received  a  cent  from  any  other  source. 
The  amount  remaining  due  on  the  Centenary  askings 
for  this  field  is  $275,000.  The  cost  of  maintenance  on 
the  basis  of  the  1925  appropriation  is  $90,465  per  year, 
so  that  maintenance  alone  for  1925  and  1926  will  absorb 
nearly  $190,000  of  the  unpaid  askings..   The  remainder 

152 


POLAND 


will  be  used  for  strengthening  our  work  in  various  cen- 
ters and  adding  new  lines  where  the  demand  is  impera- 
tive. 


When  the  Centenary  money  is  no  longer  available  what 
will  become  of  our  work  in  Poland?  The  answer  is 
plain :  New  money  must  be  raised  to  support  it  or  it  must 
be  scrapped  in  its  entirety.  The  amount  estimated  for 
the  support  of  the  Mission  in  the  Advance  World  Pro- 
gram is  $72,743.  This,  it  will  be  noticed,  is  more  than 
$20,000  per  year  less  than  the  cost  of  maintenance  at  the 
present  time.  We  will  not  need  new  property,  however, 
for  some  time  and  it  is  hoped  that  our  membership  in 
Poland  will  grow  until  some  congregations  are  able  to 
support  themselves. 


Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Poland,  General . 
Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General 


$275,000 
72,743 


153 


SIBERIA-MANCHURIA 


STATIONS  OF  THE  KOREAN  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  SIBERIA-MANCHURIA 
MISSION,  METHODTST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  SOUTH. 

154 


CHAPTER  XX 


SIBERIA-MANCHURIA 


N  the  extreme  northeastern  corner  of  the  Chinese 


Republic  lies  Manchuria,  a  vast  territory  of  365,- 


000  square  miles  with  an  estimated  population  of 
20,000,000  people.  It  is  one  of  the  outer  territories  of 
China.  This  is  the  ancient  home  of  the  Manchus,  the 
Mongolian  tribe  who  gave  to  China  its  greatest  dynasty. 
Korea  is  attached  to  Manchuria  on  the  south  while 
Asiatic  Russia  or  Siberia  extends  around  it  on  the  north. 
The  Manchurian  population,  therefore,  is  a  polyglot  of 
Chinese,  Korean,  and  Russian. 

Few  people  know  what  is  in  the  interior  of  Manchuria. 
It  is  far  removed  from  modern  civilization.  It  was 
occupied  by  Russia  in  1900  after  the  building  of  the 
Siberian  Railroad,  and  the  influx  of  Russian  soldiers  and 
colonists  alarmed  the  other  nations  of  the  East.  It  was 
the  field  of  war  between  China  and  Japan  in  1894  and 
1895.  In  1900  it  was  the  district  in  which  the  Boxer 
Movement  was  most  destructive.  In  1904  it  was  the 
theatre  of  war  between  Russia  and  Japan. 


North,  northeast,  and  northwest  of  China  spreads 
mighty  Siberia,  once  the  most  dreaded  land  on  earth.  Its 
great  territory,  a  part  of  Russia,  stretches  from  the  Ural 
Mountains  and  the  Caspian  Sea  3,600  miles  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  Arctic  Ocean  washes  its  northern  shores  and 
southward  2,200  miles  it  touches  Tibet,  Afghanistan,  and 
Persia.  Its  area  is  three  and  a  half  million  square  miles. 
Its  population  is  11,000,000,  of  which  nearly  10,000,000 
live  in  the  rural  sections. 


155 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Siberia  is  a  vast,  frozen,  and  unknown  country.  A 
sorry  railroad  straggles  across  it  but  only  brave  men  care 
to  undertake  a  journey  through  this  country.  Great 
stretches  are  still  unexplored  and  unsurveyed.  Until 
recent  years  the  very  mention  of  Siberia  was  enough  to 
send  a  shiver  of  dread  through  the  hearts  of  multitudes. 

Siberia  in  the  old  days  was  the  dumping  ground  for 
Russian  criminals  and  revolutionists.  Thither  the  Czar 
Of  All  The  Russias  exiled  those  who  displeased  him. 
Beginning  with  a  Nonconformist  priest,  the  stream  of 
exiles  to  Siberia  increased  until  it  is  said  that  20,000  un- 
fortunate wretches  each  year  were  sent  into  these  frozen 
wilds,  there  to  labor  in  the  mines,  to  freeze  or  starve  to 
death,  to  become  outlaws  and  bandits,  or  to  live  like  wild 
men. 

*    *  * 

This  is  the  section  of  the  world — Manchuria  and 
Siberia — wherein  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  has  launched  its  newest  Mission.  To  be  sure 
our  Church  does  not  attempt  to  cover  the  whole  terri- 
tory, but  in  some  of  the  principal  towns  and  cities  of 
Manchuria,  and  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  Siberia, 
where  it  extends  southward  along  the  eastern  edge  of 
Manchuria  and  touches  the  northern  tip  of  Korea,  in 
the  general  neighborhood  of  Vladivostok,  the  Meth- 
odist missionaries  are  working.  This  region  lies  on 
the  very  outskirts  of  the  world.  Men  could  not  pos- 
sibly get  farther  from  home  on  this  earth  than  are  the 
missionaries  from  America  who  labor  in  this  far 
country. 

ft  ■  ft  ■  ft 

This  Mission  was  founded  by  Bishop  W.  R.  Lambuth. 
It  was  the  last  stake  driven  down  by  this  great  pioneer. 
Large  numbers  of  Koreans  had  migrated  into  Siberia  and 

156 


SIBERIA-MANCHURIA 


Manchuria  and  the  Church  in  Korea  longed  to  do  some- 
thing for  their  spiritual  welfare.  This  territory  was  like- 
wise filled  with  Chinese,  and  so  the  Chinese  Church  had 
an  interest  there.  The  Chinese  Christians  undertook  on 
their  own  responsibility  a  Mission  to  their  fellows  in 
Manchuria,  thus  being  the  first  foreign  field  in  our  his- 
tory  to  undertake  a  Mission  to  another  field. 

In  1919  Bishop  Lambuth,  holding  the  Korea  Annual 
Conference,  ordered  workers  to  visit  Siberia  at  once,  but 
the  State  Department  at  Washington  refused  to  issue 
passports  in  view  of  the  unsettled  and  dangerous  condi- 
tion of  the  country.  In  1920,  however,  the  Board  of 
Missions  authorized  the  Bishop  to  proceed  and  in  the 
fall  of  that  year  he  again  instructed  our  workers  in  Korea 
to  enter  Manchuria  and  Siberia. 

In  October,  1920,  the  first  missionaries  made  their 
journey.  They  were  Dr.  W.  G.  Cram,  Rev.  J.  S.  Ryang, 
and  Rev.  Chung  Chai  Duk.  They  visited  Kirin,  and  in 
November  a  Korean  congregation  with  fifteen  members 
was  established  in  this  city,  while  another  Church  was 
founded  in  the  country  nearby.  The  workers  pushed  on, 
and  in  January,  1921,  the  city  of  Harbin,  one  of  the  most 
important  cities  of  Manchuria,  was  occupied  and  several 
congregations  were  established  in  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. Then  Russian  territory  was  invaded,  and  in  March, 
1921,  a  Korean  Church  was  founded  in  Nikolsk. 

The  work  among  the  Koreans  in  this  territory 
flourished  wonderfully,  and  by  April,  1921,  within  a  few 
months  after  the  first  beginnings  were  made,  our  Korean 
Church  numbered  more  than  500  members. 

|!       ■$  4 

In  July,  1921,  Bishop  Lambuth  visited  Siberia  in 
person  and  sent  missionaries  from  Korea  to  Vladivos- 

157 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


tok  and  other  Siberian  cities  to  begin  work  among  the 
Russians.  In  August,  1921,  the  Siberia-Manchuria 
Mission  was  formally  organized  in  our  Church  in 
Nikolsk  and  three  young  Koreans  were  licensed  to 
preach.  We  had  been  at  work  a  little  over  a  year,  yet 
30  churches  had  been  organized  and  the  membership 
was  over  1,200.  A  good  Russian  house  at  Nikolsk  was 
purchased  for  a  Church,  school,  and  parsonage,  this 
being  the  first  property  owned  by  our  Church  in 
Siberia. 

Early  in  1923  began  the  persecution  of  our  mission- 
aries and  members  by  the  Bolshevik  Government  of 
Siberia.  The  Bolshevik  law  provides  that  no  Church 
may  own  property,  but  that  Church  buildings,  which 
have  all  been  confiscated  by  the  State,  may  be  leased 
by  the  government  to  congregations.  Under  this  law 
we  were  robbed  of  the  property  we  had  acquired. 
Another  law  provides  that  no  person  under  eighteen 
years  of  age  shall  be  taught  religion,  and  this,  of 
course,  prohibited  Sunday  schools.  Still  another  regu- 
lation provided  that  every  school  must  teach  Bolshe- 
vism and  Communism,  and  the  Red  agents  demanded 
that  an  emissary,  appointed  by  the  Bolsheviks  but  paid 
by  our  Church,  should  be  stationed  in  each  school  as  a 
guarantee  that  this  regulation  would  be  complied  with. 

*   #  * 

In  the  midst  of  this  persecution  our  work  was  seriously 
hindered  and  the  workers  were  in  real  danger.  In  May, 
1923,  the  American  Consul-General  at  Vladivostok  or- 
dered all  American  missionaries  to  withdraw  from 
Siberia  for  their  own  protection,  and  accordingly  our 
headquarters  were  removed  from  Vladivostok  to  Harbin, 
which  is  under  international  protection.    Our  Korean 

158 


SIBERIA-MANCHURIA 


preachers  remained  in  Siberia,  however,  and  in  spite  of 
every  danger  and  obstacle  have  carried  forward  the  work 
of  evangelizing  their  own  people. 

*  *  * 

After  removing  to  Harbin  the  Methodist  work  took  on 
a  new  impetus.  This  city  is  the  military  and  commercial 
center  of  the  Far  East  and  headquarters  for  the  Chinese 
Eastern  Railway.  Here  we  opened  a  Methodist  Institute 
for  Russian  students,  and  it  is  now  self-supporting,  enroll- 
ing over  400  pay  students.  Here  also  we  publish  an 
official  organ,  The  Russian  Christian  Advocate,  printed 
in  the  Russian  language. 

*  «  « 

Few  Methodists  appreciate  the  heroic  sacrifices  of  our 
workers  in  Siberia  and  Manchuria.  In  September,  1924, 
the  Bolsheviks  refused  to  allow  Bishop  Boaz  to  enter 
Siberia,  and  also  refused  to  allow  the  Korean  pastors  to 
leave  Siberia,  thus  endeavoring  to  hamper  Methodist 
work  and  block  the  opening  of  the  Mission  meeting. 
Three  Korean  pastors  came  through,  however,  and  the 
meeting  was  duly  held  in  the  home  of  our  American 
missionary  in  Harbin. 

*  «  * 

When  the  missionaries  were  driven  out  of  Vladivos- 
tok, the  Bolsheviks  agreed  that  the  Korean  preachers 
should  remain  and  preach  to  their  people  in  the  Korean 
village  of  Vladivostok.  In  February,  1924,  however, 
the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Council  of  Workers, 
Peasants,  and  Red  Soldiers'  Deputation  resolved  to 
annul  their  agreement.  Consequently  the  militia  seized 
the  Church  building  and  arrested  and  threw  in  prison 
two  preachers  and  one  Bible  woman.  This  is  an 
example  of  the  dangers  our  workers  must  face. 


159 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


What  We  Have  in  Siberia  and  Manchuria 

Under  the  circumstances  depicted  above  it  is  evident 
that  one  can  scarcely  make  a  definite  showing  of  all  our 
work  in  Siberia  and  Manchuria.  Reports  cannot  come 
through  from  Siberia,  hence  it  is  impossible  to  determine 
just  what  work  is  actually  in  existence.  The  report  of 
September  20,  1924,  indicated  that  we  have  42  workers, 
91  Churches,  25  Church  buildings,  and  nearly  4,000 
adherents,  including  483  baptized  children,  in  the 
Korean  department  alone.  This  work  remains  after  the 
surrender  of  24  Churches  to  the  Presbyterians. 

The  status  of  our  Russian  work  is  in  doubt.  It  has  all 
been  destroyed,  or  at  least  disrupted,  in  Vladivostok.  In 
Harbin  we  have  perhaps  100  Russian  adherents  and  about 

600  students  in  the  Methodist  Institute. 

• 

In  the  Russian  department  there  are  six  American 
missionaries,  including  wTives,  four  of  whom  are  sup- 
ported by  the  Department  of  General  Work  and  two  by 
the  Department  of  Woman's  Work.  There  are  four 
native  workers,  all  laboring  in  the  city  of  Harbin,  in 
which  city  we  have  four  Churches  for  the  Russians.  Our 
institutions,  apart  from  the  Churches,  are  the  Methodist 
Institute  and  the  Russian  Christian  Advocate  mentioned 
above. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

The  entire  Siberia-Manchuria  Mission  is  a  product  of 
the  Centenary  and  from  this  source  it  receives  all  of  its 
support.  The  funds  of  the  Department  of  General  Work 
which  are  used  in  Siberia-Manchuria  came  from  the  War 
Work  Fund,  and  there  is  a  deficit  of  $202,152  in  the  ask- 
ings. In  this  section  of  the  world  Methodism  meets  its 
strongest  opposition  and  the  conditions  of  the  early  cen- 

160 


SIBERIA-MANCHURIA 


turies,  when  Christians  met  persecution  for  their  faith  in 
Christ,  are  largely  reproduced.  If,  therefore,  we  have 
the  same  faith  which  burned  in  the  hearts  of  the  early 
Christians  we  will  certainly  not  forsake  this  Mission. 

Since  all  of  the  money  for  the  support  of  the  Siberia- 
Manchuria  Mission  comes  from  the  Centenary,  it  follows 
that  nothing  will  be  available  for  support  after  the  Cen- 
tenary askings  have  been  paid.  Unless  new  money  is 
secured  the  work  will  automatically  fall  to  the  ground. 
It  will  require  $50,303  annually  for  maintenance  and  this 
sum  is  contemplated  for  the  Mission  in  the  Advance 
World  Program. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Siberia-Manchuria, 

General    $202,152 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   50,303 


161 


Francis  Asbury 

washington  monument  to  the  greatest  "home  missionary 

of  methodism  in  america. 


162 


HOME  SECTION 


ARMY  AND  NAVY 
CITY  AND  INDUSTRIAL 
EDUCATIONAL 

FRENCH 
IMMIGRANTS 

INDIANS 
MOUNTAINS 
NEGROES 
RURAL 
SUSTENTATION 


*For  fuller  discussions  of  home  missions  see  Clark :  "Healing  Ourselves,  The  First 
Task  of  the  Church  in  America."    Cokesbury  Press,  Nashville. 


THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  SOUTH,  CARRIES  ON  A  VARIED 
ACTIVITY  FOR  OUR  SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS. 


164 


* 


CHAPTER  XXI 
ARMY  AND  NAVY 

AMONG  all  the  fields  of  Christian  service  in  Amer- 
ica none  is  more  appealing  than  the  soldiers  and 
sailors  of  the  United  States  Army  and  Navy.  Yet, 
strange  to  say,  this  is  perhaps  the  most  neglected  of  all 
avenues  of  service.  We  customarily  glorify  the  soldier 
and  sailor  in  time  of  war  but  proceed  to  forget  their 
spiritual  welfare  in  times  of  peace.  During  the  World 
War  no  service  that  we  could  render  was  too  great  for 
the  soldier  or  sailor,  and  we  strained  our  vocabulary  in 
heaping  upon  them  words  of  praise  and  commendation. 
But  who  gives  a  thought  to  the  soldier  now?  Who  bestirs 
himself  to  promote  the  welfare  of  a  sailor? 

In  the  United  States  Army  there  are  about  130,000 
men,  exclusive  of  National  Guardsmen,  while  the 
sailors  and  marines  number  approximately  110,000. 
Thus  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  men  are  serving  the 
colors  at  the  present  time.  Large  numbers  of  these 
are  in  foreign  lands  and  on  board  ships  of  the  fleet, 
but  multiplied  thousands  are  stationed  at  various 
points  in  our  own  country.  Only  37,000  soldiers  are  in 
foreign  parts;  more  than  123,000  are  at  home. 

The  bringing  together  of  such  large  numbers  of  young 
men  creates  a  grave  situation  from  the  spiritual  angle. 
These  boys  are  subjected  to  severe  tests  of  character. 
Usually  the  refining  influence  of  woman  is  absent.  They 
have  no  home  life  and  few  of  the  finer  joys  and  experi- 
ences. Soldiers  and  sailors  undergo  temptations  which 
the  average  civilian  knows  not  of. 

165 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


A  small  number  of  chaplains  care  for  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  men.  There  are  125  chaplains  in  the  army, 
less  than  one  for  each  group  of  1,000  soldiers.  The  self- 
sacrificing  spirit  and  the  excellence  of  the  work  of  these 
chaplains  is  beyond  statement.  They  are  subject  to  limita- 
tions, however.  They  are  officers  having  authority  over 
the  enlisted  men,  a  fact  which  frequently  prevents  them 
from  entering  the  inner  chamber  of  the  soldier's  confi- 
dence and  comradeship.  As  a  general  rule  they  have 
little  equipment  for  their  work.  The  funds  supplied  by 
the  government  are  entirely  inadequate  and  a  chaplain 
rarely  has  a  suitable  chapel,  comfortable  seats,  musical 
instruments,  song  books,  and  the  other  paraphernalia 
urgently  needed  in  his  work.  Then  the  number  is  entirely 
too  small  to  meet  the  situation.  In  the  report  of  the 
Chief  of  Chaplains  to  the  Adjutant  General  in  October, 
1924,  it  was  pointed  out  that  there  were  urgent  requests 
for  chaplains  from  twenty-six  separate  stations  for  which 
no  spiritual  oversight  was  then  available  and  that  the 
limited  number  of  chaplains  made  it  absolutely  impos- 
sible to  respond  to  any  of  these  requests. 


The  report  above  mentioned  showed  that  during  the 
fiscal  year  ending  in  October,  1924,  1,339,473  persons 
attended  divine  worship  conducted  by  chaplains  on 
military  reservations,  an  increase  of  300,000  over  the 
preceding  year.  "By  the  law  of  averages  this  indicates 
that  every  one  in  the  military  establishment  attended 
some  form  of  religious  service  at  an  army  post  eleven 
times  during  the  year."  This  is  a  better  record  than  is 
made  by  multiplied  thousands  of  the  civilian  members 
of  our  Churches.  Of  course  the  figures  mentioned  do 
not  take  into  account  the  large  attendance  of  military 
personnel  upon  services  in  civilian  communities. 

166 


ARMY  AND  NAVY 


Formerly  the  chaplain's  office  was  filled  in  a  haphazard 
fashion,  the  government  accepting  preachers  who  cared 
to  come  forward  and  enlist  on  their  own  responsibility. 
At  the  present  time,  however,  each  leading  denomination 
has  its  allotted  proportion  of  chaplains  and  a  committee 
of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America  represents  the  Protestant  denominations  in  their 
selection  of  chaplains. 

9-  £ 

Southern  religious  agencies  have  a  heavy  responsi- 
bility for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  soldiers  and 
sailors.  The  South  is  dotted  everywhere  with  Army 
posts,  Naval  bases,  and  government  hospitals.  There 
are  49,000  soldiers  and  6,500  sailors  located  in  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.1  These 
are  located  in  nearly  a  hundred  different  centers.  Many 
of  these  are  in  tuberculosis  and  other  hospitals  main- 
tained by  the  Army  and  Navy  and  by  the  Veterans' 
Bureau.  Most  of  those  confined  in  the  hospitals  con- 
tracted the  dread  "white  plague"  or  other  diseases 
while  serving  the  country  in  the  World  War.  Religious 
service  to  these  suffering  soldiers  and  sailors  is  there- 
fore an  appealing  opportunity  as  well  as  a  duty. 

Methodism  in  the  Army  and  Navy 

Prior  to  the  Centenary  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  had  no  work  of  any  kind  among  the 
soldiers  and  sailors.  A  number  of  our  ministers  were 
chaplains  but  the  Church  took  no  official  notice  of  their 
work.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  World  War,  however,  the 
Church  awoke  to  its  duty.  We  became  aware  that  the 
great  Army  camps  and  Naval  bases  in  the  heart  of  our 
territory  had  no  adequate  ministry.  We  had  no  Churches 

1Figures  are  from  the  report  of  the  Adjutant  General  of  October  31,  1924,  and  the 
Naval  Directory  of  September,  1924. 


167 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


near  many  of  them.  When  Centenary  funds  became  avail- 
able, therefore,  the  Home  Department  of  the  Board  of 
Missions,  General  Work,  projected  a  large  program  of 
service  among  the  hosts  of  Uncle  Sam.  In  this  activity 
our  Church  led  the  way. 

9      ^8  "® 

The  policy  of  the  Church  in  its  Army  and  Navy  work 
has  three  elements  as  follows : 

I.  The  Church  undertakes  to  reinforce  the  work  of 
the  regularly  commissioned  Methodist  chaplains.  Nine- 
teen ministers  of  our  Church  are  chaplains  in  the  United 
States  Army  and  Navy.  The  salaries  of  these  men  are 
paid  by  the  government.  They  are  stationed  in  various 
parts  of  the  world  and  are,  of  course,  subject  to  change  of 
location.  Under  the  direction  of  his  commanding  officer, 
the  chaplain  is  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  minis- 
tering to  the  spiritual  and  moral  needs  of  the  Army  or 
Navy  personnel.  His  duties  among  the  soldiers  and 
sailors  are  similar  in  every  way  to  those  of  the  regular 
pastor. 

These  chaplains  are,  however,  constantly  handicapped 
because  they  have  no  funds  with  which  to  meet  their  con- 
tingent expenses.  They  are  unable  to  purchase  hymn- 
books,  tracts  for  distribution,  flowers  or  dainties  for  the 
sick,  or  to  meet  any  of  the  small  expenses  that  continu- 
ally arise  in  their  ministry. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  enable  these  men  to  be  more 
effective  in  their  work,  the  Home  Department  of  the 
Board  of  Missions,  General  Work,  makes  to  each  of  our 
Southern  Methodist  chaplains  an  appropriation  of  $300 
a  year  for  incidental  expenses.  With  this  small  amount 
the  clergymen  are  able  to  exercise  a  more  effective  min- 
istry for  the  men. 

168 


ARMY  AND  NAVY 


II.  The  second  element  of  our  policy  is  establishing 
and  maintaining  pastors  in  the  Army  camps  and  Naval 
bases  in  our  territory.  Some  of  the  large  centers  have 
been  without  ministerial  service  and  we  have  therefore 
placed  our  own  workers  on  the  ground.  The  camp 
pastors  are  civilian  friends  and  spiritual  advisers  of  the 
men  and  their  influence  for  good  is  readily  seen  in  the 
posts  wherein  they  labor.  Camp  pastors  are  now  sta- 
tioned as  follows: 

1.  Kelly  Field,  San  Antonio.  This  is  one  of  the 
largest  aviation  fields  and  advanced  flying  schools  in  the 
country.   More  than  1,500  men  are  stationed  here. 

2.  Fort  Clark.  This  is  a  border  command  near  the 
interior  town  of  Brackettsville,  Texas.  A  thousand  men 
are  in  this  lonely  spot. 

3.  Fort  Ringgold,  Texas.  This  is  a  border  outpost  on 
the  Rio  Grande  25  miles  from  a  railroad. 

4.  Eagle  Pass,  Texas.  Here  is  a  small  camp  on  the 
Mexican  border  opposite  the  city  of  Piedras  Negras. 

5.  Fort  Bliss  and  William  Beaumont  Hospital,  El 
Paso.  One  pastor  serves  both  of  these.  Fort  Bliss  is  a 
large  command  with  3,500  men. 

6.  Fort  Sill,  Lawton,  Oklahoma.  Here  is  another 
large  post  with  3,000  men. 

7.  Nogales,  Arizona.  This  is  an  Army  post  composed 
largely  of  Negro  troops. 

8.  Fort  Wright,  Spokane,  Washington.  About  600 
men  are  stationed  here. 

9.  Parris  Island,  South  Carolina.  This  is  a  Naval 
base,  on  an  island  off  the  city  of  Beaufort,  with  a  marine 
barracks,  naval  prison,  hospital,  and  radio  station.  Here 

169 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


the  raw  marine  recruits  are  usually  taken  for  preliminary 
training,  and  during  their  initiation  into  the  life  of  a 
marine  they  need  spiritual  advice  and  guidance.  Our 
pastor  lives  on  the  mainland  but  spends  each  day  on  the 
island  with  the  men.  The  number  in  the  barracks  and 
hospital  varies;  there  are  nearly  300  men  in  the  prison. 

10.  Quantico,  Virginia.  This  is  an  important  Marine 
barracks  with  a  marine  officers'  school  and  a  marine 
aviation  center.  Marines  are  usually  transferred  to 
Quantico  after  their  training  at  Parris  Island.  We  have 
here  a  substantial  Church  and  a  large  congregation,  but 
owing  to  the  constant  movement  of  the  men  it  must  be 
supported  with  missionary  funds. 

III.  The  third  element  of  Methodist  policy  in  serv- 
ing the  Army  and  Navy  is  that  of  maintaining  preachers 
in  various  tuberculosis  hospitals  located  in  our  territory. 
The  need  in  such  hospitals  is  very  great  and  it  is  a  privi- 
lege to  bring  spiritual  ministration  to  the  suffering  men. 

Our  pastors  are  now  serving  in  eight  tuberculosis 
hospitals  as  follows:  (1).  Oteen  Hospital,  Asheville, 
N.  C. ;  (2).  Fort  Whipple  Hospital,  Prescott,  Arizona; 
(3).  Veterans'  Bureau  Hospital  Number  79,  Dawson 
Springs,  Kentucky;  (4).  Veterans'  Bureau  Hospital 
Number  27,/ Alexandria,  Louisiana;  (5).  Biloxi,  Missis- 
sippi; (6).  Fort  Bayard  Hospital,  Fort  Bayard,  New 
Mexico;  (7).  Pastime  Park  Hospital,  Tucson  Arizona; 
(8).  William  Beaumont  Hospital,  El  Paso,  Texas;  (9). 
Naval  Hospital,  San  Diego,  California. 

As  mentioned  above  the  same  pastor  serves  both  Fort 
Bliss  and  the  William  Beaumont  Hospital.  At  San  Diego 
the  hospital  work  is  carried  on  in  connection  with  our 
University  Heights  Church  and  the  pastor  of  the  Church 

170 


ARMY  AND  NAVY 


is  also  the  pastor  of  the  hospital.  The  most  distressing 
situation  in  the  country  pertains  to  Pastime  Park  Hospital 
in  Tucson.  Here  the  worst  cases  are  taken  and  the  pastor 
reports  that  his  activities  include  a  large  number  of 
funerals  each  week. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

As  mentioned  above  all  the  work  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  for  the  Army  and  Navy  is  a 
product  of  the  Centenary.  The  funds  for  its  support  come 
from  that  source,  being  derived  from  the  Centenary  War 
Work  Fund.  That  this  is  a  highly  important  service  in 
a  sadly  neglected  field  will  be  readily  admitted  and  he  is 
a  strange  Methodist  who  desires  its  discontinuance.  The 
existence  of  all  of  this  activity,  however,  is  jeopardized 
by  the  fact  that  the  Centenary  pledges  have  not  been  paid. 
There  yet  remains  due  for  the  Army  and  Navy  from  the 
Centenary  askings  the  sum  of  $49,700.  It  will  be  neces- 
sary to  collect  this  money  if  this  service  is  maintained. 

But  after  the  Centenary  payments  have  been  completed 
nothing  will  be  available  for  maintenance,  and  it  will 
therefore  be  necessary  to  raise  new  money  or  discontinue 
the  entire  policy.  The  amount  estimated  for  such  main- 
tenance is  $30,000  per  year  and  this  amount  is  therefore 
included  in  the  Advance  World  Program. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Army  and  Navy,  Gen- 
eral  $49,700 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   30,000 


171 


CHAPTER  XXII 


CITY  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


E  are  all  familiar  with  the  rapid  and  constant 


growth  of  our  cities  during  the  past  century.  The 


government  calls  a  city  any  place  having  as  many 
as  2,500  people  and  in  these  more  than  half  of  our  people 
live.  Nearly  44%  of  our  people  live  in  centers  of  more 
than  8,000. 

We  have  25  cities  with  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million 
inhabitants  each  and  a  dozen  with  more  than  half  a 
million.  New  York  City  has  a  million  more  people  than 
the  entire  state  of  Texas;  more  than  any  state  in  the 
Union  except  the  state  in  which  it  is  located  and 
Pennsylvania,  Illinois,  and  Ohio;  more  than  North  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia,  the  two  largest  Southern  States,  com- 
bined. Between  1910  and  1920  cities  gained  12,000,000 
while  the  increase  in  the  rural  sections  was  only  1,600,000. 


Southern  cities  are  growing  much  more  rapidly,  pro- 
portionately, than  the  cities  in  any  other  part  of  the 
country.  Between  1910  and  1920  the  city  population 
in  the  territory  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  increased  39%,  while  the  increase  in  such  places 
for  the  whole  nation  was  less  than  6%.  Between  1910 
and  1920  our  membership  increased  56%  in  the  cities 
and  only  18%  in  the  rural  districts,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  about  6/7  of  all  the  Churches  and  7/10  of  all  the 
members  live  in  the  villages  and  open  country. 

These  facts  indicate  that  if  Southern  Methodism  is  to 
live  and  grow  it  must  give  immediate  attention  to  the 
city  problem. 


173 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


But,  it  may  be  asked,  what  is  the  city  problem?  Do 
the  cities  need  a  Gospel  different  from  that  demanded 
elsewhere?  No.  But  they  do  need  a  different  method 
of  approach  and  a  different  manner  of  applying  the 
Gospel.  There  are  certain  conditions  which  apply 
especially  to  the  cities  and  which  have  a  special  bearing 
upon  the  work  of  the  Church. 

The  first  is  congestion.  In  the  slums  it  is  nothing 
unusual  to  find  a  thousand  people  living  in  a  single 
ramshackle,  dark,  and  dirty  tenement.  Large  families 
may  huddle  in  one  or  two  rooms.  The  environment  is 
unspeakably  vile  and  children  are  accustomed  to  wick- 
edness and  crime  from  their  youth  up.  Social  life  is 
impossible.  Children  can  play  only  on  the  streets  and 
young  people  can  meet  only  on  the  street  corners  or  in 
the  cheap  moving  picture  shows.  In  this  situation  the 
Church  has  a  social  mission  which  is  entirely  foreign 
to  it  in  the  country.  Playgrounds,  parlors,  wholesome 
entertainment,  and  social  activity  of  various  kinds,  are 
necessary  to  its  successful  ministry. 


Another  condition  is  that  of  poverty.  In  the  slum  tene- 
ment lives  the  immigrant  and  the  unskilled  poor  who 
have  drifted  in  from  the  country.  Father,  mother,  and 
children  all*  work  in  the  f  actories  and  the  combined  in- 
come is  not  sufficient  to  provide  a  decent  livelihood. 
Sickness  or  misfortune  immediately  means  dependency 
or  starvation. 

This  also  affects  the  Church.  It  must  exert  its  influ- 
ence to  secure  a  living  wage  for  the  people.  The  demands 
upon  its  poor  fund  are  tremendous.  Special  workers  are 
necessary  to  visit  and  relieve  distress.    Surrounded  by 

174 


CITY  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


poverty,  the  Church  must  adopt  methods  which  would  be 
wholly  out  of  place  in  the  ordinary  village. 

*  *  * 

A  third  condition  is  disease.  The  children  of  the 
tenements  seldom  see  a  tree,  green  grass,  the  blue  sky, 
the  sunshine.  Instead  of  these  they  are  accustomed  to 
smoke,  filth,  impure  air,  and  foul  odors.  Undernour- 
ished, pale,  sickly  children  are  characteristic  of  the 
slums.  The  Church  must  be  alive  to  this  situation. 
Clinics  must  be  maintained  in  order  that  the  people 
may  have  dental,  medical,  and  surgical  care  which  they 
could  not  possibly  obtain  otherwise.  Visiting  nurses 
are  needed.  Milk  depots  must  provide  pure  milk  for 
the  babies.  These  and  a  multitude  of  other  activities 
for  which  there  is  no  demand  in  the  country  must  be 
carried  on  by  the  modern  Church  in  the  slum  districts 
of  the  city. 

#  #  * 

Another  condition  is  the  shifting  nature  of  the  popula- 
tion. The  people  are  here  today  and  there  tomorrow. 
The  mass  is  always  seething,  and  the  Church  which  seeks 
to  minister  to  these  people  must  not  only  have  a  sufficient 
number  of  workers  to  keep  in  touch  with  their  movements 
but  must  also  provide  against  the  loss  of  support  which 
these  shifts  entail. 

Herein  lies  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  of  Christian 
work  in  the  cities.  Gradual  encroachment  of  factories 
turns  into  a  slum  what  had  been  a  residential  section. 
Jews  and  Negroes  move  in  and  the  old  population  moves 
out.  In  every  great  city  old  mansions  formerly  occupied 
by  the  best  social  element  of  the  population  are  now  cheap 
boarding  houses  and  tenements.  The  Churches  follow 
their  members,  being  unable  to  support  themselves  when 

175 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


the  character  of  the  neighborhood  changes.  Their  build- 
ings are  purchased  by  Negroes  and  Jews  or  they  become 
garages,  storerooms,  or  factories.  If  a  Church  elects  to 
remain  in  the  downtown  section  it  must  find  its  support 
elsewhere,  for  the  surrounding  population  could  not  pos- 
sibly finance  the  activities  of  a  modern  city  Church. 

When  the  population  shifts  the  Church  must  follow 
its  members  or  die  for  lack  of  support.  This  leaves  the 
most  thickly  populated  districts  without  any  Christian 
ministry.  There  is  but  one  solution  of  this  distressing 
problem.  These  downtown  Churches  must  be  kept  in 
the  midst  of  the  people  and  the  necessary  support  must 
be  provided  by  missionary  agencies.  The  Church  can- 
not follow  the  unchristian  procedure  of  denying  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  people 
for  no  other  reason  than  that  they  are  too  poor  to  pay 
for  it. 

Closely  allied  to,  and  indeed  a  part  of,  the  city  problem 
is  the  problem  of  the  industrial  centers.  It  presents  the 
same  aspects  of  congestion,  poverty,  lack  of  sanitation, 
and  shifting  population.  Frequently  industrial  centers 
are  located  in  the  heart  of  the  great  cities,  in  which  case 
the  problem  involved  is  simply  the  general  city  problem. 
In  other  cases  the  industrial  communities  constitute  cities 
in  themselves,  'and  in  these  the  situation  is  somewhat 
distinct. 

Industrial  centers  with  which  we  are  familiar  in  the 
South  are  mainly  the  mining,  cotton  mill,  and  steel  mill 
communities.  In  West  Virginia,  Virginia,  Kentucky  and 
Missouri  we  find  whole  cities  engaged  in  the  single  occu- 
pation of  mining.  In  North  Carolina  the  textile  indus- 
tries have  similarly  developed  large  centers,  while  in  the 
Birmingham  district  are  the  great  steel  mills. 

176 


CITY  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


Sometimes  the  great  operating  corporations  own  the 
whole  city,  including  the  streets,  schools,  stores,  and 
homes.  Thousands  of  ignorant  foreigners  are  fre- 
quently massed  in  these  communities.  They  engage  in 
the  hardest  kind  of  manual  labor.  Their  wage  is  low. 
Their  home  is  a  "shack."  They  are  easily  led  astray 
and  disaffected,  and  radicals  find  among  them  a  fertile 
field  for  propaganda.  These  industrial  centers  are 
smoldering  volcanoes  of  discontent  which  are  liable  at 
any  moment  to  flare  forth  and  work  disaster  upon  the 
country. 

The  industrial  problem  has  not  been  acute  in  the  South 
in  the  past  but  this  section  is  now  rapidly  becoming  indus- 
trialized. West  Virginia  produces  16%  of  all  the  soft 
coal  of  the  country  and  employs  a  hundred  thousand 
miners.  North  Carolina  leads  the  whole  country  in  the 
textile  industry.  There  are  more  than  100  cotton  mills 
in  Gaston  County,  North  Carolina,  alone.  The  South 
raises  nearly  all  of  the  cotton  and  consumes  nearly  two- 
thirds  of  it  in  its  own  mills. 

These  communities  call  for  a  distinct  type  of  service. 
Not  only  must  the  workers  have  the  Gospel,  but  they  look 
to  the  Church  for  their  recreation  and  expect  it  to  supply 
the  leadership  for  all  the  activities  of  their  community 
life. 

In  supplying  their  needs  the  Church  now  has  the 
hearty  cooperation  of  the  corporations  themselves.  This 
was  not  always  the  case.  Frequently  in  the  past  the 
"bosses"  looked  askance  at  the  efforts  of  the  Church  to 
improve  the  social  conditions  of  the  workers,  but  today 
the  corporations  contribute  liberally  to  the  Church's  wel- 
fare work.  In  the  textile  villages,  for  example,  the  com- 
pany will  usually  provide  the  land,  and  sometimes  erect 

177 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


the  Church,  if  the  denomination  will  supply  the  pastor 
and  leader. 

«    *  « 

Before  the  Centenary  the  Churches  in  the  cities 
carried  on  their  regular  routine  without  assistance  or  sug- 
gestions from  the  General  Board  of  Missions.  As  valu- 
able as  this  activity  was  it  scarcely  touched  the  rim  of  the 
real  city  problem.  In  fact,  the  city  Churches  were  little 
more  than  country  Churches  transplanted  to  the  large 
centers.  Their  program,  like  that  of  the  Church  in  the 
small  town,  consisting  of  two  preaching  services  on  Sun- 
day, an  Epworth  League,  Missionary  Society,  Sunday 
school,  and  prayer  meeting  on  Wednesday  night. 

The  Centenary  Movement  provided  funds,  however, 
and  a  comprehensive  policy  of  city  work  was  inaugurated 
by  the  General  Department  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  and 
that  policy  is  now  being  carried  out  in  a  number  of  the 
leading  cities  in  our  territory.  It  consists  mainly  in  (1). 
Enabling  the  downtown  Churches  to  remain  in  the  con- 
gested sections  by  helping  in  their  financial  support;  (2). 
Supplying  trained  social  workers  to  Churches  in  the 
downtown  and  slum  districts;  (3).  Maintaining  pastors 
and  workers  in  various  industrial  regions;  (4).  Establish- 
ing Good  Will  Industries  in  connection  with  Churches 
and  Social  Settlements;  (5).  Contributing  to  the  support 
of  certain  large  Institutional  Churches  with  social  service 
features.  To  this  activity  is  added  a  great  program  of 
city  work  maintained  by  the  Woman's  Department  of  the 
Board  of  Missions.  This  consists  largely  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  social  centers  and  workers  with  special  reference 
to  women  and  girls.  In  certain  institutions  the  two  De- 
partments cooperate. 

Before  proceeding  to  a  detailed  statement  of  this  work 
a  word  should  be  said  concerning  the  Good  Will  Indus- 

178 


CITY  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


tries,  which  all  denominations  have  found  indispensable 
in  their  city  welfare  work.  The  Good  Will  Industry  is 
a  work  shop  which  repairs  articles  of  every  conceivable 
kind  and  a  sales  room  which  sells  them  at  a  nominal 
price.  Worn,  broken,  and  cast-off  clothing,  furniture, 
and  other  articles,  are  given  to  the  Industry  and  are  re- 
made. The  workers  are  usually  old  people  who  would 
experience  difficulty  in  the  keen  competition  of  the  day, 
but  who  nevertheless  are  good  workers,  and  their  products 
find  a  ready  market  among  the  poor.  Thus  the  Good 
Will  Industry  not  only  furnishes  employment  to  needy 
people  but  also  provides  cheap  commodities  for  the  poor. 
They  are  self-supporting  after  establishment,  but  the 
Home  Department  of  the  Board  of  Missions  provides 
the  Superintendent. 

The  Methodist  Program 

The  cities  of  the  South  and  Southwest  are  filled  with 
institutions  and  workers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  About  130  full-time  workers  are  em- 
ployed by  the  Board  of  Missions,  85  by  the  Home  De- 
partment, General  Work,  and  45  by  the  Department  of 
Woman's  Work.  These  do  not  by  any  means,  however, 
represent  the  full  force  of  Methodist  workers,  because  in 
nearly  50  cities  large  operations  are  carried  on  under  City 
Mission  Boards  which  finance  their  own  enterprises  and 
employ  their  own  personnel.  The  following  is  a  sum- 
mary of  the  work  now  being  attempted : 

1.  Good  Will  Industries.  These  are  now  in  successful 
operation  at  Nashville,  Memphis,  Chattanooga,  Louis- 
ville, Richmond,  Dallas,  New  Orleans,  Atlanta,  and 
Columbus,  Ga. 

2.  Down-town  City  Churches.  Workers,  pastors,  and 
social  service  experts  are  stationed  in  cities  as  follows: 

179 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Baltimore,  4;  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  2;  Colorado 
Springs,  1;  Knoxville,  4;  Louisville,  5;  St.  Louis,  IS; 
Macon,  1 ;  Memphis,  3 ;  New  Orleans,  5 ;  Oklahoma  City, 
1;  Richmond,  6;  Phoenix,  Arizona,  1;  San  Francisco, 
1 ;  Kansas  City,  1 ;  Tulsa,  1 ;  Waco,  1. 

3.  St.  Mark's  Hall,  New  Orleans.  This  is  perhaps 
the  greatest  Institutional  Church  in  the  South.  A  new 
plant,  valued  at  $150,000,  was  erected  by  the  Centenary 
in  1922.  It  stands  in  the  ancient  foreign  section  of  New 
Orleans  surrounded  by  a  population  of  30,000  Italians, 
French,  Spanish,  and  Americans.  It  is  a  Church,  gym- 
nasium, clinic,  workers'  residence,  club,  and  school  com- 
bined. 

4.  Textile  Industrial  Institute,  Spartanburg,  S.  C. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  unique  institutions  in  the  world. 
It  is  a  school  wherein  students  study  in  the  classroom  one 
week  and  work  in  the  textile  mills  the  next  week,  thus 
earning  a  livelihood  while  obtaining  an  education.  It 
has  become  involved  in  financial  difficulties,  but  is  still 
in  operation  and  it  is  confidently  expected  that  this  great 
school  will  continue  its  work  under  the  auspices  of  our 
Church. 

5.  Triangular  Mountain  Institute,  Buchanan  County, 
Virginia.  It  is  situated  near  the  junction  of  Virginia, 
West  Virginia,  and  Tennessee,  in  the  heart  of  one  of  the 
neediest  sections  of  the  South,  and  serves  a  mountain 
mining  population. 

6.  Textile  Centers.  Pastors  and  social  workers  are 
stationed  in  textile  communities  as  follows:  Gaston, 
N.  C,  6;  Charlotte,  N.  C,  2;  Spartanburg,  S.  C,  1; 
Columbus,  Ga.,  1. 

7.  Steel  Mills.  In  the  Bessemer  District,  near  Birm- 
ingham, six  pastors  and  one  hospital  worker  are  sup- 
ported. 

180 


CITY  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


8.  Miners.  Seven  pastors  are  provided  for  Churches 
in  the  mining  sections  of  Missouri  and  Oklahoma.  They 
are  stationed  at  Guthrie,  Hartshorne,  Quapau,  and 
Picher,  Oklahoma,  and  at  Joplin,  Flat  River,  and  Hur- 
culaneum,  Missouri. 

*    *  * 

■^>-         -^>-  -^o- 

As  mentioned  above  the  General  and  Woman's  Work 
Departments  of  the  Board  of  Missions  cooperate  in 
various  city  mission  enterprises.  This  is  true  of  St. 
Mark's  Hall  in  New  Orleans,  for  example.  But  the 
women  on  their  own  responsibility  carry  on  a  widespread 
work  in  various  cities.  The  following  survey  indicates 
the  more  important  items : 

1.  Mary  Elizabeth  Inn,  San  Francisco.  This  is  a 
hostel  for  young  women.  Its  building  is  worth  $200,000 
and  a  week-end  cottage  is  maintained  at  a  convenient  dis- 
tance from  the  city  where  the  young  women  may  find 
recreation  and  rest  under  Christian  supervision. 

2.  Wesley  Community  House,  San  Francisco.  This 
institution  combines  a  Church,  gymnasium,  workers' 
apartments,  clubs,  and  class  rooms.  The  Centenary 
erected  its  new  plant  in  1920  at  a  cost  of  $80,000.  It  is 
situated  in  the  midst  of  a  community  of  35,000  persons 
greatly  in  need  of  its  influence  and  social  service. 

3.  Homer  Toberman  Mission  and  Clinic,  Los  Angeles. 
This  great  plant  was  erected  by  the  Centenary  in  1921,  at 
a  cost  of  $150,000.  It  has  a  chapel,  Sunday  school  rooms, 
club  rooms,  library,  community  kitchen,  dining  room, 
residence  for  workers,  playground,  and  clinic. 

4.  Virginia  K.  Johnson  School,  Dallas.  This  is  a 
school  for  delinquent  girls,  ordinarily  called  a  "rescue 
home."  Its  enrollment  is  about  70  and  its  property  is 
worth  $125,000. 

181 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


5.  Door  of  Hope,  Macon.  This  institution  is  similar 
to  the  Virginia  K.  Johnson  School.  It  has  good  property 
but  is  temporarily  closed. 

6.  Vashti  School,  Thomasville,  Georgia.  Vashti  is 
for  dependent  girls  of  good  character.  Its  purpose  is  to 
educate  young  girls  who  for  various  reasons  have  become 
dependent  and  might  easily  be  led  astray. 

7.  Wesley  Community  House,  Biloxi,  Mississippi.  In 
the  midst  of  a  large  population  of  Austrians,  Poles, 
Italians,  French,  Americans,  and  other  nationalities, 
employed  in  the  shrimp  and  oyster  canneries,  stands  the 
Wesley  Community  House.  It  serves  a  needy  section  of 
our  population,  having  a  playground,  nursery,  gymna- 
sium, club  rooms,  and  a  chapel. 

8.  Wesley  Community  House,  War,  West  Virginia. 
This  institution  serves  the  coal  mining  population  of 
West  Virginia.  Its  activities  are  similar  to  those  of  other 
community  houses. 

*    *  # 

But  the  largest  work  carried  on  by  the  women  of  Meth- 
odism is  not  directed  by  the  General  Board  of  Missions, 
but  by  City  Mission  Boards  in  various  centers.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  Wesley  Community  Houses  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  the  Board  o'f  Missions  as  listed  above,  there 
are  at  this  time  organized  City  Mission  Boards  in  42 
cities  in  our  territory.  These  Boards  raise  annually  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  work  in  the  cities  above  named 
more  than  $100,000.  Some  of  the  City  Mission  Boards 
carry  on  their  work  in  rented  houses;  great  Wesley 
Houses  are  owned,  however,  in  Birmingham,  Richmond, 
Knoxville,  Chattanooga,  Meridian,  Montgomery,  Mo- 
bile, Orangeburg,  Portsmouth,  Savannah,  Murfreesboro, 
Nashville,  Louisville,  Lexington,  Ky.,  St.  Louis,  Kansas 

182 


CITY  AND  INDUSTRIAL 


City,  St.  Joseph,  Springfield,  Mo.,  Oklahoma  City,  Fort 
Worth,  Dallas,  Waco,  Houston,  San  Antonio. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

From  the  above  survey  it  will  be  evident  that  the  Mis- 
sionary Centenary  gave  a  great  impetus  to  our  City 
Mission  work.  Nothing  had  been  done  in  a  connectional 
way  by  the  Home  Department,  General  Work,  before  the 
Centenary  and  at  the  present  time  absolutely  nothing  is 
available  from  the  regular  budget  to  support  the  work 
which  has  been  started.  The  entire  hope  for  this  su- 
premely important  activity,  therefore,  lies  in  the  Cen- 
tenary. Unless  the  Centenary  pledges  are  paid  it  must 
all  be  discontinued,  and  after  the  Centenary  new  money 
for  its  support  must  be  raised  or  it  cannot  be  longer 
maintained. 

The  amount  due  to  the  Home  Department,  General 
Work,  on  the  Centenary  askings  for  City  and  Industrial 
activity  is  $219,000.  For  the  Department  of  Woman's 
Work  the  amount  unpaid  is  $65,000.  For  maintenance 
of  the  program  of  the  General  Work  Department  beyond 
the  Centenary  it  is  estimated  that  $75,000  per  year  will 
be  necessary. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  City  and  Industrial 
Work,  General  $219,000 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  City  and  Industrial 
Work,  Women    65,000 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   75,000 


183 


184 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


EDUCATIONAL 

THE  greatest  problem  in  government,  industry, 
society,  or  the  Church  is  the  problem  of  leader- 
ship. The  world  goes  whither  it  is  led,  and  if  all 
persons  who  occupy  positions  of  leadership  in  the  world 
were  trained  Christian  men  who  injected  the  principles 
of  Christianity  into  all  affairs,  the  redemption  of  the 
social  order  would  be  in  sight. 

This  is  particularly  true  in  the  Church.  The  para- 
mount need  of  the  Church  is  trained  leaders  for  its  vari- 
ous activities.  In  the  work  of  Home  Missions  the  prob- 
lem of  leadership  is  peculiarly  pressing.  About  fifteen 
hundred  pastors  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  are  "supplies,"  men  of  unquestioned  integrity  and 
consecration  but  who  are  usually  untrained  and  are  often 
engaged  in  other  occupations  and  regard  their  preaching 
as  a  "side  issue."  Our  rural  sections  are  suffering  from 
the  lack  of  trained  leaders.  Multitudes  of  our  country 
pastors  are  not  adequately  prepared  for  their  tasks;  only 
three  out  of  a  hundred  are  theological  graduates  and  only 
seventeen  per  cent  are  graduates  of  colleges. 

In  an  attempt  to  solve  the  problem  of  leadership,  the 
Home  Department  of  the  Board  of  Missions  has  pro- 
jected and  is  now  carrying  out  a  large  program  of 
educational  work.  The  policy  aims  to  supervise  the 
religious  life  of  Methodist  students  in  great  secular 
institutions  of  learning;  to  train  the  rank  and  file  of 
our  members  in  missions;  to  develop  leaders  for  our 
missionary  work  at  home  and  abroad;  and  to  make 
possible  a  better  equipment  for  all  the  pastors  of  our 
Church. 


185 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Both  the  departments  of  General  Work  and  Woman's 
Work  engage  in  this  activity,  practically  all  of  which  is 
a  product  of  the  Centenary.  The  program  has  several 
divisions,  as  follows: 


I.  Summer  Schools  for  Pastors.  In  1921,  as  an  ex- 
periment, two  summer  schools  for  pastors  were  held. 
These  proved  so  popular  and  effective  that  in  three  years 
the  number  has  grown  to  sixteen.  These  schools,  held 
for  the  most  part  at  our  colleges,  offer  twelve  days  of 
actual  class  room  work  in  courses  especially  designed  to 
contribute  to  the  efficiency  of  the  pastor.  About  three 
thousand  preachers  are  in  attendance  each  year,  securing 
instruction  in  modern  methods  of  Church  work,  inspira- 
tion, and  general  information  which  they  could  not  ob- 
tain elsewhere.  In  some  Conferences  the  local  Board  of 
Missions  pays  the  expenses  of  all  the  undergraduate 
preachers  in  the  Conference  and  insists  upon  their  attend- 
ance. 

The  Pastors'  schools  are  held  at  the  following  places: 

Emory  and  Henry  College,  Emory,  Va. 

Central  College,  Fayette,  Mo. 

Southern  Methodist  University,  Dallas,  Texas. 

Birmingham-Southern  College,  Birmingham,  Alabama. 

Randolph-Macon  College,  Ashland,  Va. 

Lambuth  College,  Jackson,  Tenn. 

Logan  College,  Russellville,  Ky. 

Hendrix  College,  Conway,  Ark. 

Trinity  College,  Durham,  N.  C. 

Wesleyan  College,  Macon,  Ga. 

Morris-Harvey  College,  Barboursville,  W.  Va. 

Wofford  College,  Spartanburg,  S.  C. 

Southern  College,  Lakeland,  Fla. 

Columbia  College,  Milton,  Oregon. 

186 


EDUCATIONAL 

Beulah  Assembly  Ground,  Pueblo,  Colo. 
Oklahoma  City,  Okla. 

*     *  g 

II.  Student  Pastors  at  State  Universities.  There 
are  more  Methodist  boys  and  girls  in  the  tax-supported 
colleges  and  universities  than  are  enrolled  in  all  the 
Methodist  institutions  combined.  These  secular  insti- 
tutions are  not  irreligious,  but  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
it  is  scarcely  possible  for  them  to  place  official  emphasis 
upon  religion.  In  order,  therefore,  that  the  Methodist 
young  people  may  have  religious  oversight  during 
these  years  of  training,  student  pastors  are  maintained 
at  many  universities.  These  student  pastors  usually 
live  on  the  campus  and  work  among  the  students,  main- 
taining, of  course,  a  close  connection  with  the  local 
Church.  Such  student  workers  are  supported  in  the 
universities  of  Texas,  California,  Virginia,  Missouri, 
Oklahoma,  Florida,  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  and  in  the 
Southeast  Missouri  State  Teachers'  College,  Arkansas 
State  Teachers'  College,  and  Oklahoma  Agricultural 
and  Mechanical  College. 


III.  Churches  in  Educational  Centers.  Closely  allied 
to  the  work  of  the  student  pastors  is  that  of  providing 
adequate  Church  facilities  in  the  cities  where  large  col- 
leges and  universities  are  located.  Such  Churches  are 
necessary  if  religious  opportunities  are  to  be  provided  for 
the  students,  and  since  a  large  part  of  the  congregations 
come  from  the  outside  it  is  too  much  to  expect  the  local 
Churches  to  provide  all  of  the  facilities.  In  order  to 
erect  adequate  buildings  these  Churches  must  receive  out- 
side assistance. 


187 


* 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 

Such  assistance  is  rendered  by  the  Centenary,  a  part 
of  the  askings  from  the  war  work  fund  being  devoted  to 
that  purpose.  It  is  administered  by  a  joint  committee 
from  the  Board  of  Missions  and  the  Board  of  Church 
Extension.  This  committee  is  spending  more  than  a  mil- 
lion dollars  for  Churches  in  educational  centers,  appro- 
priations being  made  to  supplement  the  funds  raised  by 
local  congregations.  The  following  list  shows  the  cities 
in  which  these  Churches  are  being  erected  and  the  insti- 
tutions served  by  them : 

Fayetteville,  Ark.  (University  of  Arkansas) 
Berkeley,  Calif.  (University  of  California) 
Baton  Rouge,  La.  (University  of  Louisiana) 
Columbia,  Mo.  (University  of  Missouri) 
Chapel  Hill,  N.  C.  (University  of  North  Carolina) 
Charlottesville,  Va.  (University  of  Virginia) 
Birmingham,  Ala.  (Birmingham-Southern  College) 
Lakeland,  Fla.  (Southern  College) 
Richmond,  Ky.  (Eastern  Kentucky  Normal) 
Lafayette,  La.  (Southwestern  Louisiana  Industrial  In- 
stitute) 

Starksville,  Miss.  (Mississippi  Agricultural  and  Mechani- 
cal College) 

Kirkville,  Mo.  (Northeast  Missouri  Teachers'  College) 
Cape  Girardeau,  Mo.   (Southeast  Missouri  Teachers' 
College) 

Warrensburg,  Mo.  (Central  Missouri  Teachers'  Col- 
lege) 

Maryville,  Mo.  (Northwest  Missouri  Teachers'  College) 
Fayette,  Mo.  (Central  College) 
Roswell,  N.  Mexico  (State  Military  Institute) 
Boone,  N.  C.  (Appalachian  Training  School) 
Goodwell,  Okla.  (Panhandle  Agricultural  Institute) 
Clemson  College,  S.  C.  (Clemson  College) 
Rock  Hill,  S.  C.   (Winthrop  Normal  and  Industrial 
School) 

Alpine,  Tex.  (Sull  Ross  Normal  College) 
College  Station,  Tex.  (Texas  Agricultural  and  Mechani- 
cal College) 


188 


EDUCATIONAL 


Canyon,  Tex.  (West  Texas  Teachers'  College) 
Denton,  Tex.  (North  Texas  Normal  and  College  of  In- 
dustrial Art) 

Lexington,  Va.  (Virginia  Military  Institute  and  Wash- 
ington and  Lee  College) 
Williamsburg,  Va.  (William  and  Mary  College) 
Fairmont,  Va.  (Fairmont  State  Normal  School) 
Atlanta,  Ga.  (Emory  University) 
Tucson,  Arizona  (University  of  Arizona) 
Dallas,  Tex.  (Southern  Methodist  University) 

In  addition  to  these  centers  the  same  fund  is  erecting 
Churches  in  Las  Vegas,  New  Mexico,  and  Nogales, 
Arizona. 

*    -ft  * 

IV.  Chairs  in  State  Universities.  In  order  to  provide 
courses  in  religion  for  Methodist  students  in  secular  uni- 
versities, the  Board  of  Missions  is  endeavoring  to  estab- 
lish chairs  in  such  institutions  under  capable  Methodist 
teachers.  For  the  most  part,  the  universities  welcome 
these  courses  and  allow  full  credit  for  all  work  taken 
under  the  professors.  Such  departments  offer  courses  in 
religious  education,  Bible,  Church  history,  and  similar 
subjects  and  the  work  done  is  thoroughly  standard.  A 
strong  Wesley  Bible  Chair  has  been  established  at  the 
University  of  Texas  and  beginnings  have  been  made  at 
the  University  of  Missouri  and  elsewhere.  As  funds  are 
available  this  work  will  be  enlarged  until  all  Methodist 
students  have  access  to  such  teaching. 

V.  Chairs  of  Missions.  In  order  to  train  missionary 
leaders,  chairs  or  departments  of  Home  and  Foreign 
Missions  are  being  established  in  connection  with  our 
own  theological  schools.  The  policy  outlined  provides 
for  eight  such  chairs,  City,  Rural,  Oriental  and  Latin- 
American  Departments  in  each  of  our  two  seminaries. 

189 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Through  these  chairs  the  missionaries  are  to  be 
trained.  In  addition  to  these  departments  in  the  uni- 
versities chairs  of  Rural  Leadership  are  supported  in 
Hendrix  College,  Central  College,  and  Birmingham- 
Southern  College. 

In  view  of  the  great  need  and  strategic  importance  of 
the  country  Church  in  the  South,  these  chairs  of  Rural 
Leadership  fulfill  a  vital  function.  The  professors  are 
men  with  specialized  training  in  the  problems  of  coun- 
try life,  and  they  are  expected  to  spend  much  of  their 
time  with  the  rural  presiding  elders  and  pastors  in  the 
field.  Thus  they  not  only  train  a  rural  leadership  but 
also  assist  in  working  out  the  actual  problems  of  the  coun- 
try Church. 

*  6  * 

VI.  Rural  Institutes.  The  training  of  rural  preach- 
ers is  a  distinct  task.  As  mentioned  above,  such  training 
is  offered  in  certain  colleges  and  universities.  In  order 
to  provide  instruction  in  methods  of  rural  Church  work 
to  pastors  unable  to  attend  these  institutions,  the  Home 
Department  of  the  Board  of  Missions  conducts  rural 
institutes  in  various  districts  throughout  the  Church.  In 
these  institutes  the  country  preachers  assemble  for  three 
or  four  days  and  work  out  their  problems  under  the  direc- 
tion of  rural  experts. 

*  «  « 

VII.  Schools  of  Missions.  Schools  of  missions  are 
conducted  each  summer  at  the  Southern  Assembly,  Lake 
Junaluska,  N.  C,  and  the  Western  Assembly,  Mt.  Se- 
quoyah (Fayetteville) ,  Ark.  The  departments  of  Gen- 
eral Work  and  Woman's  Work  cooperate  in  these  schools. 
The  purpose  is  to  give  training  and  inspiration  to  laymen 
and  others  interested  in  the  missionary  cause. 

190 


EDUCATIONAL 


VIII.  Dormitories  for  Women  at  State  Universities. 
The  Home  Department,  Woman's  Work,  maintains  girls' 
dormitories  at  certain  great  secular  institutions  of  learn- 
ing in  which  Methodist  girls  live  under  Christian  in- 
fluences. Four  such  dormitories  are  already  in  operation 
and  the  value  of  the  property  is  $500,000.  These  dormi- 
tories are  as  follows: 

Smith-Carroll  Hall,  College  of  Industrial  Arts,  Denton, 
Texas. 

Agnes  Moore  Hall,  University  of  Oklahoma,  Norman, 
Okla. 

Ellen  Kirby  Hall,  University  of  Texas,  Austin,  Texas. 
Dormitory  for  Methodist  Women,  University  of  Mis- 
souri, Columbia,  Mo. 

IX.  The  Department  of  Woman's  Work  is  rendering 
a  signal  religious  service  by  supporting  Bible  Teachers  in 
certain  great  secular  institutions  of  learning.  Such  teach- 
ers are  now  at  work  in  the  College  of  Industrial  Arts  at 
Denton,  Texas;  University  of  Oklahoma  at  Norman. 
William  and  Mary  College  at  Williamsburg,  Virginia, 
and  the  Southeastern  State  Normal  at  Durant,  Oklahoma. 
In  these  institutions  are  hundreds  of  young  women,  and 
it  is  fitting  that  the  Methodist  girls  should  have  the 
opportunity  of  studying  the  Bible  under  their  own  teach- 
ers. Of  course  these  instructors  are  duly  recognized  as 
members  of  the  faculty  and  full  credit  is  given  for  their 
work.  In  one  case  our  teacher  is  the  head  of  the  depart- 
ment. 

*    #  * 

X.  Scarritt  College  for  Christian  Workers.  In 
this  institution  the  women  train  their  missionaries.  It 
was  established  in  1892  at  Kansas  City  under  the  name 
of  the  Scarritt  Bible  and  Training  School.  In  1923  it 
was  moved  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  affiliated  with  George 

191 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Peabody  College  for  Teachers,  and  given  the  name  of 
Scarritt  College  for  Christian  Workers.  The  college 
accepts  students  who  have  completed  the  sophomore 
year  in  standard  colleges  and  gives  them  two  years  of 
specialized  missionary  training.  It  confers  the  degrees 
of  A.  B.  and  M.  A.  A  valuable  site  has  been  purchased 
in  the  heart  of  the  educational  district  of  Nashville 
and  new  buildings  will  soon  be  provided.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  the  work  is  being  done  in  five  large  residences 
on  the  campus. 

XI.  An  interesting  phase  of  educational  service  is  now 
being  developed  in  connection  with  the  School  of  The- 
ology of  Southern  Methodist  University.  An  Extension 
Department  has  been  established  and  correspondence 
courses  are  offered  in  such  subjects  as  missions,  religious 
education,  Christian  sociology,  and  Church  administra- 
tion. The  Board  of  Missions,  Sunday  School  Board,  and 
Board  of  Education  cooperate  with  the  authorities  of  the 
university  in  the  direction  of  this  department.  Thus  all 
the  pastors  may  continue  their  studies  under  university 
guidance.  The  faculty  is  composed  of  leading  scholars 
and  the  university  awards  appropriate  diplomas  for  the 
completion  of  the  courses  outlined. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  is  carrying  on  a  vast  educational  program 
as  a  part  of  its  missionary  activity.  This  program  under- 
girds  the  whole  missionary  policy.  Practically  all  of  it 
is  a  product  of  the  Centenary  and  must  rely  for  its  devel- 
opment upon  Centenary  funds.  The  unpaid  Centenary 
askings  for  the  Department  of  General  Work  are  as 
follows : 


192 


EDUCATIONAL 

Pastors'  Schools  $30,000.00 

State  Universities   30,000.00 

Total  $60,000.00 

*     -ft  * 

For  the  Department  of  Woman's  Work,  the  unpaid 
askings  are  as  follows: 

Scarritt  College  for  Christian  Workers  $50,000.00 

State  Universities   17,961.00 

Total  $67,961.00 


After  the  Centenary  askings  have  been  paid,  new 
money  must  be  provided  if  this  educational  work  is  con- 
tinued. Nothing  is  available  for  it  in  the  regular  budget. 
For  its  continuance  the  sum  of  $32,000  annually  must 
be  secured  by  the  Department  of  General  Work  alone. 
Of  this  amount  $12,000  will  maintain  the  summer  schools 
for  pastors,  while  $20,000  will  be  used  for  the  program 
of  service  at  the  State  Universities. 

Summary 

Unpaid   Centenary   for   Educational  Work, 

General  $60,000 

Unpaid   Centenary  for   Educational  Work, 

Women   67,961 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   32,000 


193 


THE  MACDONELL  WESLEY  COMMUNITY  HOUSE,  HOUMA,  LOUISIANA 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


FRENCH 

IN  southeastern  Louisiana  we  find  the  strangest  and 
most  pathetic  situation  to  be  found  anywhere  in  the 
United  States.  There,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  South, 
dwell  a  group  of  at  least  350,000  people  whose  ancestors 
settled  there  before  the  Revolutionary  War,  but  who  are 
today  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  foreign  to  American 
life  and  society  as  though  they  lived  in  France  or  the 
French  speaking  provinces  of  Canada.  In  this  section  of 
the  country,  our  "melting  pot"  has  been  absolutely  impo- 
tent. These  people  are  the  Creoles  and  the  Acadians, 
or  "Cajaens,"  as  they  are  popularly  called.  The  older 
people  among  them  are  as  French  as  were  their  fathers 
who  penetrated  that  country  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago. 

Louisiana  was  settled  by  the  French  near  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  1755  the  Acadians  of  Nova 
Scotia,  deported  by  the  British  from  their  Canadian 
homes,  sought  refuge  among  their  cousins  in  Louisiana. 
Along  the  bayous  of  the  southeastern  parishes  their  chil- 
dren remain  until  this  day.  Until  recently  few  of  them 
have  been  able  to  speak  the  English  language.  In  their 
schools  instruction  was  given  in  French.  They  were  sepa- 
rated from  American  life  and  institutions  by  the  barriers 
of  race,  tongue,  and  religion,  and  they  have  never  been 
absorbed  into  our  social  body. 

Practically  all  of  these  French  speaking  people  are 
Roman  Catholics  and  the  Catholicism  which  prevails 
among  them  is  of  a  low  type.    For  a  century  and  a  half 

195 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


they  have  been  in  subjection  to  the  priests,  and  the  priests 
have  never  encouraged  the  spread  of  culture.  Today 
they  are  poverty  stricken,  ignorant,  and  simple. 

Quite  naturally  an  illiterate  people,  speaking  a  foreign 
tongue  and  consequently  cut  off  from  even  the  possibility 
of  absorbing  elements  of  culture,  become  a  prey  to  super- 
stition and  manifold  spiritual  evils.  The  ancient  custom 
of  wearing  a  spider  in  a  nutshell  as  a  prevention  or  cure 
of  disease  is  a  case  in  point. 

"An  evidence  of  the  imposition  of  a  conscienceless  and 
unworthy  priesthood  upon  an  ignorant,  helpless  people 
is  shown  by  an  incident  of  a  year  or  two  ago,  when  a  man 
garbed  and  accepted  as  a  Roman  Catholic  priest  traveled 
through  the  parish  selling  amulets  to  the  people  at  prices 
ranging  from  $5.00  to  $50.00.  The  amulets  were  small 
silk  bags  filled  with  a  powdery  substance  which  he 
claimed  would  give  to  the  possessor  protection  against  all 
manner  of  misfortune.  A  bag  was  purchased  and  its  con- 
tents analyzed.  It  proved  to  be  a  mixture  of  sugar  and 
talcum  powder." 

*    *  * 

Such  facts  make  it  plain  that  the  southeastern  parishes 
of  Louisiana  constitute  a  mission  field,  and  so  they  are 
regarded  by  the  Protestant  forces  of  the  country.  This 
region  presents  all  the  features  of  a  mission  field — illiter- 
acy, poverty,  superstition,  backwardness,  inability  to 
speak  the  current  language,  priest  ridden,  under  the 
bondage  of  religious  ideas  essentially  pagan.  There  is 
here  the  same  challenge  that  is  presented  by  Brazil,  Cuba, 
or  Mexico,  made  doubly  compelling  by  the  fact  that  the 
problem  lies  in  the  very  heart  of  our  own  country;  these 
Acadians  and  Creoles  are  our  own  fellow-citizens ;  native- 
born  white  people  who  have  lived  among  us  since  before 
the  United  States  became  a  nation.    Peaceable,  indus- 

196 


FRENCH 


trious,  and  home  loving,  the  barrier  of  a  foreign  tongue 
prevents  them  from  enjoying  any  part  of  our  culture. 
Surely  the  Christian  Church  owes  it  to  them  and  to  itself 
to  evangelize,  educate,  and  uplift  these  gentle  and  lovable 
people. 

£    *  * 

The  Creoles  constitute  about  40%  of  the  whole  popu- 
lation of  Louisiana,  but  in  the  southeastern  parishes 
they  are  greatly  in  the  majority.  In  this  strongly 
Catholic  state  we  find  the  highest  percentage  of 
illiteracy  in  the  United  States.  Only  75%  of  the  chil- 
dren between  seven  and  thirteen  years  of  age  attend 
school,  this  being  the  lowest  percentage  in  the  nation. 
In  some  of  the  parishes  nearly  half  of  the  people  are 
illiterate  and  fully  one-third  of  the  whole  Creole  popu- 
lation are  unable  to  read  and  write.  Here  is  a  distress- 
ing situation  which  constitutes  an  imperative  challenge 
to  the  Church. 

*    *  * 

■s>-" 

Methodism  has  always  endeavored  to  serve  the  Creoles. 
To  them  went  the  first  missionary  ever  sent  out  by  the 
Missionary  Society  of  American  Methodism.  When  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  was  organized  in 
1846  its  first  action,  at  its  very  first  General  Conference, 
was  to  authorize  work  among  these  people.  Thus  for 
more  than  a  hundred  years  Methodism  has  exerted  its 
efforts  to  redeem  the  Louisiana  Creoles. 

We  must  confess  that  for  a  full  century  our  work  bore 
little  fruit.  Our  preachers  were  driven  out  by  persecu- 
tion or  the  indifference  of  the  people.  The  solid  block  of 
Romanism  showed  little  sign  of  yielding.  A  small  group 
was  won,  however,  and  in  1908  Martin  Hebert  (pro- 
nounced A-bear)  was  converted  from  Romanism.  He 
became  a  Methodist  preacher  and  a  missionary  among 

197 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


his  people,  remaining  today  as  the  strongest  Protestant 
force  among  them.  The  success  of  Protestantism  among 
the  Creoles  really  dates  from  the  conversion  of  this  man. 

Permanent  results  were  not  secured,  however,  until 
the  Centenary  provided  additional  workers  and  equip- 
ment. This  great  movement  has  furnished  chapels, 
preachers,  social  workers,  and  a  school.  It  has  been 
possible  to  conserve  the  results  secured,  and  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  Methodism  has  made  greater  ad- 
vances here  during  the  Centenary  period  than  during 
the  whole  of  the  previous  century.  We  may  not  expect 
that  the  grip  of  Rome  on  these  simple  people  will  im- 
mediately relax,  or  that  Protestantism  can  in  a  few 
short  years  develop  a  strong  organization  among  them. 
But  the  Church  is  growing,  and  some  large  and  self- 
supporting  congregations  have  been  developed.  Cul- 
ture is  spreading  and  the  boys  and  girls  are  learning 
to  read  and  write  the  English  language.  The  people 
are  losing  faith  in  the  grosser  forms  of  Roman  super- 
stition. The  time  is  not  far  distant  when  these  gentle 
Creoles  will  for  the  first  time  experience  the  benefits 
of  true  American  civilization  and  take  their  place  in 
the  life  of  our  time. 

What  We  Have  Among  the  French 

The  French  field  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  is  regularly  embraced  in  the  Louisiana  Conference 
and  covers  the  southern  and  southeastern  part  of  the 
State,  especially  the  parishes  of  Evangeline,  St.  Martin, 
Iberia,  Lafourche,  and  Terrebonne.  These  parishes  are 
peculiarly  needy.  They  have  a  combined  total  popula- 
tion of  129,648,  of  which  number  28%  are  Negroes  and 
only  0.4%  are  foreign  born.  The  Creoles  predominate 
in  the  white  population. 

198 


FRENCH 


The  work  of  the  Church  among  the  French  of 
Louisiana  is  well  organized.  Rev.  Martin  Hebert  is 
the  general  evangelist  for  his  people.  The  major  centers 
of  our  work  are  such  Creole  towns  as  Houma,  New 
Iberia,  and  St.  Martinsville.  In  this  territory  we  have 
seven  pastoral  charges  with  about  thirty  local  Churches. 
These  Churches  are  scattered  over  a  wide  area  and  the 
pastors  for  the  most  part  speak  to  the  people  in  the 
French  language.  The  chapels  are  usually  small  and 
inexpensive,  although  at  Houma  the  Centenary  has 
recently  completed  an  elegant  and  modern  building. 
Some  of  the  congregations  have  no  houses  of  worship, 
but  meet  in  small  farm  houses  after  the  fashion  of  the 
early  Methodists.  It  is  realized  that  the  hope  of  Creole 
redemption  lies  in  the  children,  and  accordingly  unusual 
efforts  are  put  forth  in  the  organization  and  operation  of 
Sunday  schools. 

A  new  departure  in  evangelism  has  been  enterprised 
among  the  Creoles,  namely,  the  establishment  of  ceme- 
teries. In  the  French-speaking  parishes  no  burial 
grounds  exist  save  those  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  the  threats  of  the  priests  to  deny  Chris- 
tian burial  to  all  who  display  sympathies  with  Prot- 
estantism have  prevented  many  from  accepting  the 
Gospel.  Methodist  cemeteries  are,  therefore,  a  neces- 
sity, and  one  such  has  already  been  established  by  the 
Home  Department  of  the  Board  of  Missions.  The  in- 
telligence that  the  Methodists  are  prepared  to  give 
Christian  burial  to  the  people  has  a  salutary  influence 
among  the  Creoles. 

Methodist  institutional  work  centers  at  Houma,  in 
Terrebonne  Parish.  This  city,  with  a  population  of  more 
than  five  thousand,  is  situated  at  the  junction  of  six  navi- 
gable bayous  of  the  Intercoastal  Canal  Route,  and  is  the 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


heart  of  a  vast  sugar  producing  area.  Here  is  our 
strongest  Church  and  from  this  center  a  widespread  evan- 
gelistic activity  is  carried  on. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  Department  of  Woman's 
Work  two  notable  institutions  have  been  founded  at 
Houma.  One  is  the  McDonell  Wesley  Community 
House.  This,  as  its  name  implies,  is  a  social  service  cen- 
ter especially  for  women  and  children.  It  was  established 
in  rented  quarters  in  1917  and  a  new  site  and  building 
was  purchased  by  the  Centenary  in  1919. 

In  this  Community  House  playgrounds  for  the  chil- 
dren and  rest  rooms  for  country  mothers  are  provided. 
Its  main  work  is  not  done  for  the  population  of  Houma 
but  for  the  rural  people  round  about.  It  is  the  center 
of  a  thickly  settled  rural  community  of  more  than  60,000 
French  people.  The  workers  from  the  Community 
House  cover  this  territory  in  automobiles,  visiting  in  the 
homes,  establishing  and  conducting  Sunday  schools,  do- 
ing relief  work  for  the  poor,  preaching  and  teaching, 
and  in  every  way  endeavoring  to  promote  the  welfare  of 
the  Creoles. 

The  other  institution  maintained  by  the  women  at 
Houma  is  the  McDonell  French  Mission  School.  This 
is  a  Centenary  enterprise,  established  in  1923,  and  in 
view  of  the  prevailing  illiteracy  may  be  considered  the 
most  strategic  institution  in  that  section  of  Louisiana. 
Its  enrollment  is  small  and  all  the  students  are  board- 
ers. Boys  and  girls  are  taken  from  the  poverty- 
stricken  homes  of  the  rural  sections  and  cared  for  and 
taught  in  this  school.  The  institution  is  closely  related 
to  the  Wesley  Community  House  and  an  admirable 
system  of  cooperation  between  the  various  workers  is 
maintained. 


200 


FRENCH 


The  Advance  World  Program 

Practically  everything  that  has  ever  been  done  by 
Methodism  for  the  French  people  of  Louisiana  was  done 
by  the  Centenary,  and  we  must  frankly  admit  that  the 
Centenary  is  the  only  hope  of  its  maintenance.  For  the 
Department  of  General  Work  the  sum  of  $41,000  re- 
mains unpaid  on  the  Centenary  askings,  and  for  the  De- 
partment of  Woman's  Work  $8,213  remains  unpaid.  In 
view  of  the  tremendous  need  and  the  appalling  social 
situation  among  the  Creoles,  it  is  unthinkable  that  Meth- 
odists would  not  pay  these  small  amounts  in  order  to  con- 
tinue such  a  service. 

After  the  Centenary  Askings  have  been  paid,  it  will 
require  $10,000  annually  to  support  our  evangelistic 
work.  This  is  a  comparatively  small  sum  and  should  be 
easily  raised.  To  those  who  have  an  acquaintance  with 
the  exact  situation,  this  element  of  the  Advance  World 
Program  will  prove  most  popular. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  French  Work,  General . .  $41,000 
Unpaid  Centenary  for  French  Work,  Women . .  8,213 
Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   10,000 


201 


202 


CHAPTER  XXV 


IMMIGRANTS 


HE  only  real  native  American  is  the  Indian.  Ours 


is  a  land  of  immigrants,  our  population  having  been 


contributed  by  all  the  other  nations  of  the  world. 
There  are  94,820,915  white  people  in  the  United  States. 
Of  this  number  13,712,754  are  foreign  born  persons  and 
22,686,204  are  of  foreign  or  mixed  parentage.  It  is  rather 
startling  to  realize  that  considerably  more  than  one-third 
of  all  the  white  people  in  the  United  States  belong  to 
what  may  properly  be  called  the  immigrant  class. 

There  are  many  communities  in  our  country  that  are 
really  more  foreign  in  their  make-up  than  American. 
This  is  especially  true  of  New  York  City.  Although 
this  great  metropolis  is  usually  the  first  to  flaunt  its 
Americanism,  the  simple  truth  is  that  it  is  not  Ameri- 
can at  all.  Out  of  a  total  population  of  5,620,048,  only 
1,164,834,  or  about  one-fifth,  are  white  persons  born  of 
native  parents.  Thus  four-fifths  of  all  of  the  people  in 
this  great  city  belong  to  the  immigrant  group. 

The  foreigners  have  contributed  much  to  American 
life  and  will  continue  to  do  so.  Many  of  them,  however, 
are  a  menace  to  American  institutions.  They  come  to  us 
ignorant  and  poverty  stricken,  and,  huddling  together 
in  restricted  districts,  they  do  not  amalgamate  into  the 
American  social  order.  To  most  of  them  our  religion  is 
as  foreign  as  our  speech,  and  they  are  likely  to  remain 
under  the  domination  of  their  priests,  establish  on  our 
soil  their  heathen  temples  and  worship,  or  drift  into  a 
godless  disregard  of  all  spiritual  value.  Disease,  crime, 
disaffection,  and  anarchy  breed  readily  among  them  and 


203 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


here  the  radical  agitator  finds  a  fruitful  field  for  propa- 
ganda. 


Our  immigrant  population  constitutes  one  of  the  great- 
est mission  fields  in  America,  and  all  denominations  pos- 
sessing the  missionary  spirit  are  earnestly  endeavoring 
to  Christianize,  Americanize,  educate,  and  uplift  these 
aliens.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  faces 
the  immigrant  problem  in  an  acute  form  in  certain  sec- 
tions of  its  territory.  It  has  accordingly  developed  a 
vast  net-work  of  missionary  activity  among  certain  for- 
eign groups.  These  groups  are  the  Italians,  Cubans, 
Mexicans,  and  Orientals. 

These  constitute  a  peculiarly  difficult  field  for  re- 
ligious work.  The  Italians,  Cubans,  and  Mexicans  ar^ 
Latins  and  have  certain  characteristics  in  common. 
They  have  all  inherited  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  of 
the  Latin  type,  which  is  the  most  degraded  form  of 
that  religion.  Their  home  lands  are  priest  ridden  and 
their  people  are  superstitious,  illiterate,  and  pauper- 
ized. Religion  to  many  of  them  means  extortion  and 
slavery  to  a  priest,  and  it  is,  therefore,  exceedingly 
difficult  to  win  them  to  a  form  of  faith  which  they  have 
been  taught  to  hate. 

The  Orientals,  of  course,  are  outright  heathen.  Most 
of  them  have  never  had  any  relation  with  Christianity 
in  any  form.  Missionary  work  among  them  in  America 
is,  therefore,  very  similar  to  the  work  of  foreign  missions. 

The  Bureau  of  Census  for  1916  states  that  there  are  83 
Hindu  Temples  or  places  of  worship  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  with  55  priests  officiating.  Their  membership  has 
increased  78.2%  during  a  period  of  ten  years,  while  the 

204 


IMMIGRANTS 


value  of  temple  property  increased  29.9%.  One  authority 
gives  the  membership  increase  at  128%. 

Among  all  these  people,  however,  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  is  working  and  developing  its  insti- 
tutions of  service.  Let  us  consider  these  various  immi- 
grant groups  in  turn  and  sketch  the  activity  of  our  Church 
among  them. 

9  9 

I.  In  our  territory  there  are  approximately  250,000 
persons  born  in  Italy  and  these,  with  their  children  born 
in  this  country,  constitute  a  large  Italian  population.  The 
Italians  are  usually  unskilled  laborers  and  are  found  in 
industrial  centers,  on  public  works,  and  in  other  places 
where  common  labor  is  demanded.  They  are  poor  and 
ignorant.  Religiously  they  are  Roman  Catholics  or  noth- 
ing, the  latter  more  frequently  than  the  former.  The 
work  of  Methodism  among  them  takes  the  form  of  evan- 
gelism. We  have  as  yet  founded  no  schools  for  Italians, 
but  in  Texas,  Florida,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  and  Mis- 
souri, we  have  Italian  Churches  in  which  the  Gospel  is 
preached  in  the  native  language.  In  certain  places  there 
are  institutional  or  social  service  features  in  connection 
with  these  Churches. 

In  Tampa  and  its  suburb,  Ybor  City,  two  such 
Churches  are  ministering  to  an  Italian  colony  number- 
ing about  6,000.  In  the  industrial  section  surrounding 
Birmingham,  at  Ensley  and  Pratt  City,  Churches  have 
recently  been  erected  and  Italian-speaking  pastors  are  in 
charge.  Here  also  is  the  great  Ensley  Community  House, 
a  large  social  service  center  wherein  seven  workers  are 
laboring  for  the  redemption  of  the  foreigners.  At  Thur- 
ber  and  Bryan,  Texas,  Kansas  City,  and  New  Orleans, 
Italian-speaking  preachers  are  also  serving.  All  of  this 
activity,  save  the  Ensley  Community  House,  is  directed 

205 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


by  the  Department  of  General  Work  of  the  Board  of 
Missions. 

The  Department  of  Woman's  Work  has  at  Tampa  the 
Urban  Bird  Clinic  and  Settlement  in  the  Italian  colony. 
It  is  similar  to  the  Ensley  Community  House  and  the 
various  Wesley  Houses.  It  is  a  powerful  agency  for  good 
among  the  sons  of  Italy. 

In  the  Institutional  Church  at  Kansas  City,  Kingdom 
House  at  St.  Louis,  St.  Marks  Hall  at  New  Orleans,  and 
similar  centers  in  other  cities  the  women  have  depart- 
ments of  service  for  Italians,  although  the  institutions  do 
not  confine  their  efforts  exclusively  to  this  group. 

II.  Our  work  for  the  Cubans  centers  in  Tampa  and 
Key  West,  in  which  cities  thousands  of  these  people 
labor  in  the  cigar  factories.  The  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  established  its  mission  to  the  Cuban 
immigrants  in  1874,  when  the  Florida  Conference 
appointed  Rev.  J.  E.  A.  Van  Duser  as  a  missionary 
among  them.  He  died  of  yellow  fever  without  securing 
a  single  convert  and  his  last  words  are  engraved  on  his 
simple  monument  at  Key  West,  "Don't  let  the  Church 
give  up  the  Cuban  Mission." 

The  Cubans  drift  back  and  forth  between  Florida  and 
their  native  land  and  few  of  them  become  American  citi- 
zens. They  are  Roman  Catholics,  if  anything,  and  stand 
greatly  in  need  of  Christian  service.  The  work  of  our 
Church  for  them  may  be  thus  summarized: 

1.  We  have  six  Churches  for  the  Cubans,  four  in 
Tampa  and  two  in  Key  West,  and  these  have  a  combined 
membership  of  about  700.  Spanish-speaking  pastors  are 
in  charge  of  these  Churches  and  the  work  is  mainly  evan- 
gelistic. 

206 


IMMIGRANTS 


2.  There  are  two  day  schools  for  Cuban  children. 
One  is  in  Tampa  and  the  other  in  Key  West.  Both  are 
connected  with  the  Churches.  The  school  in  Tampa  has 
125  pupils  and  for  lack  of  space  turns  away  as  many 
more.  Ground  has  been  purchased  here  for  the  erection 
of  a  building  and  when  Centenary  funds  are  available 
this  school  will  render  a  larger  service.  The  day  school 
in  Key  West  has  two  instructors  and  enrolls  about  fifty 
pupils. 

3.  Wolff  Settlement,  Ybor  City,  Tampa.  This  is  a 
great  social  service  plant  operated  by  the  Department  of 
Woman's  Work.  It  has  a  playground,  library,  gym- 
nasium, kindergarten,  day  nursery,  milk  station,  and 
various  clubs  and  organizations  for  boys,  girls  and 
mothers. 

4.  Rosa  Valdes  Settlement,  Tampa.  This  is  another 
social  service  plant  operated  by  the  women.  It  has  a  new 
building  worth  $38,000  and  is  located  across  the  street 
from  our  Church  and  school. 

5.  Ruth  Hargrove  Settlement,  Key  West.  This  insti- 
tution is  owned  by  the  women  and  operates  among  the 
large  community  of  Cuban  cigar  makers. 

6.  Ruth  Hargrove  School,  Key  West.  This  school 
for  Cuban  children  is  operated  by  the  women  in  connec- 
tion with  their  settlement.  It  has  two  teachers  and  an 
enrollment  of  61  pupils. 

*    *  * 

III.  Our  largest  immigrant  program  is  carried  on 
among  the  Mexicans  of  the  Southwest.  The  census  re- 
ports of  the  number  of  Mexicans  in  our  territory  are 
unreliable  but  it  has  been  estimated  that  the  total  is  at 
least  1,500,000.  Fully  half  a  million  of  these  are  in 
Texas,  the  largest  colony  being  at  San  Antonio,  where 
there  is  a  Mexican  population  of  50,000.    El  Paso  is 

207 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


55%  Mexican  and  60%  of  the  total  population  of  New 
Mexico  is  Mexican  or  Spanish-American.  The  presence 
of  such  vast  throngs  of  foreigners  in  the  heart  of  our  ter- 
ritory places  upon  us  a  heavy  responsibility. 

These  Mexicans  who  are  flocking  to  the  United  States 
are  immigrants  of  the  humbler  sort.  Most  of  them  are 
common  laborers  who  come  to  do  the  work  that  many  of 
our  native-born  citizens  refuse  to  do.  Of  the  18  256 
immigrants  who  arrived  here  from  Mexico  in  1921-22, 
only  1,165  were  skilled  workers  and  but  291  were  listed 
as  professional  men. 

The  common  laborers  find  employment  largely  on  the 
railroads  of  the  Southwest;  it  is  reported  that  one  line 
employs  nearly  15,000  Mexicans.  Large  numbers  are 
working  in  the  mines  and  other  industries.  The  most 
hopeful  sign  in  the  Mexican  immigration  situation  is  that 
many  are  finding  their  way  to  the  farms.  In  Texas,  where 
a  great  majority  of  all  the  foreigners  are  Mexicans,  the 
census  figures  show  that  468,722  of  the  immigrant  class, 
including  the  foreign-born  and  those  of  foreign  or  mixed 
parentage,  are  living  in  the  rural  sections,  while  only 
337,181  are  in  the  centers  of  population.  Texas  today 
ranks  as  one  of  the  first  agricultural  States  of  the  country, 
and  its  prosperity  has  been  made  possible  by  the  labor  of 
the  Mexicans. 

These  are  the  neediest  people  among  us.  They  sur- 
pass the  Italians  and  Cubans  in  the  degree  of  their 
poverty  and  ignorance,  as  well  as  in  the  squalor  of 
their  home  environment.  When  the  Mexican  comes  to 
this  country  it  is  usually  to  escape  starvation,  and  his 
entire  earthly  wealth  consists  of  the  few  rags  and 
articles  he  carries  in  a  pack.  Unskilled,  unlettered, 
unable  even  to  speak  the  language,  he  must  take  the 
first  job  offered  to  him.  He  lives  in  an  adobe  hut,  often 


208 


IMMIGRANTS 


with  a  dirt  floor,  subsists  on  beans,  and  ekes  out  a  most 
abject  existence.  These  people  know  nothing  of  sani- 
tation and  the  death-rate,  particularly  among  the  chil- 
dren, is  unusually  high. 

•  In  1912  it  was  found  that  18%  of  the  Mexicans  lived 
in  one-room  houses  and  60%  in  two-room  houses.  Con- 
ditions have  improved,  however,  and  a  recent  study  in 
Los  Angeles  revealed  the  fact  that  only  1  %  live  in  one- 
room  shacks,  while  2%  have  two  rooms,  24%  have  three 
rooms,  30%  have  four  rooms,  and  20%  have  five  rooms. 
In  the  same  survey  it  was  found  that  28%  of  these  habita- 
tions have  no  sinks,  32%  no  lavatories,  and  79%  no  baths. 

Living  thus  in  surroundings  more  or  less  unsanitary 
and  squalid,  and  being  ignorant  concerning  even  the 
fundamentals  of  sanitation  and  feeding — disease,  partic- 
ularly tuberculosis,  is  quite  prevalent  among  them.  In- 
fant mortality  is  unusually  high;  in  Los  Angeles  it  is  152 
in  1,000  among  Mexicans,  but  only  54  in  1,000  among  the 
general  population;  the  Mexican  baby  has  one-third  the 
chance  to  live  that  is  possessed  by  the  average  baby. 

The  work  of  Southern  Methodism  among  the  Mexi- 
cans is  organized  in  the  Texas  Mexican  Mission  and  the 
Western  Mexican  Mission.  These  cover  the  entire  South- 
west. In  these  two  Missions  there  are  50  Mexican 
preachers  and  90  local  congregations  with  a  total  mem- 
bership of  more  than  4,000.  Many  of  the  congregations 
meet  in  private  homes  or  elsewhere  but  50  of  them  own 
their  own  houses  of  worship.  There  are  80  Sunday 
schools  with  more  than  5,000  pupils  enrolled.  Some  of 
the  Churches  are  already  self-supporting  and  many  of 
the  others  receive  only  a  small  appropriation  from  the 
Board  of  Missions.  In  addition  to  this  Church  work  the 
following  institutions  are  in  operation : 

209 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


1.  Wesleyan  Mexican  Institute,  San  Antonio.  This 
is  a  school  for  Mexican  boys  which  is  training  many 
Christian  leaders.  It  has  eight  instructors,  an  enrollment 
of  100,  and  a  building  worth  $75,000. 

2.  Valley  Institute,  Pharr,  Texas.  This  is  a  similar 
institution  for  Mexican  girls.  It  has  a  capacity  of  only 
50  and  is  always  filled  to  overflowing. 

3.  Four  day  schools  for  Mexican  children  are  oper- 
ated at  Phoenix,  Arizona;  Magdalena,  Mexico;  Eagle 
Pass,  Texas,  and  Del  Rio,  Texas. 

4.  Mexican  Community  Center,  El  Paso,  Texas.  This 
is  a  great  social  service  plant  in  the  heart  of  the  largest 
Mexican  community  in  the  United  States. 

5.  Evangelista  Mexicana.  This  is  a  religious  news- 
paper for  Mexicans,  the  official  organ  of  the  Texas  Mexi- 
can Mission  and  the  Western  Mexican  Mission. 

6.  Holding  Institute,  Laredo,  Texas.  This  is  a  board- 
ing school  for  Mexican  boys  and  girls  maintained  by  the 
Department  of  Woman's  Work  of  the  Board  of  Missions. 
Its  enrollment  is  315.  It  has  a  faculty  of  19  teachers  and 
the  value  of  its  property  is  $210,000.  Holding  Institute 
is  the  largest  Protestant  mixed  school  for  Spanish  speak- 
ing people  in  the  world. 

7.  Wesley  House,  San  Antonio.  In  the  heart  of  the 
great  Mexican  district  of  San  Antonio  the  women  of  the 
Church  maintain  a  Wesley  Community  House.  This  is 
the  center  of  Mexican  social  life  and  its  varied  activities 
do  much  for  the  uplift  of  the  people,  particularly  the 
women  and  children. 

■sSl 

IV.  The  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  for  Oriental  immigrants  is  all  in  California  and 

210 


IMMIGRANTS 


is  operated  exclusively  by  the  Department  of  Woman's 
Work.  Multitudes  of  Chinese,  Japanese,  and  Koreans 
are  flocking  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  There  they  are  estab- 
lishing their  heathen  worship.  While  we  are  sending 
our  missionaries  to  establish  Christian  Churches  in 
the  Orient,  the  Orientals  are  building  heathen  temples 
in  California,  there  being  several  Buddhist  temples  on 
our  Pacific  Coast.  It  is  perfectly  apparent,  therefore, 
that  Christians  are  under  an  obligation  to  put  forth 
every  possible  effort  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen 
people  who  are  coming  to  our  shores. 

The  Women  of  Methodism  are  doing  this.  There 
they  operate  Churches,  missions,  and  circuits.  This  evan- 
gelistic activity  is  confined  to  the  Japanese,  of  whom  there 
are  120,000,  and  the  Koreans,  who  number  about  2,000. 

The  Churches  for  the  Japanese  and  Koreans  are  lo- 
cated at  San  Francisco,  Oakland,  Stockton,  Manteca, 
Sacramento,  Maxwell,  Willows,  Reedley,  Dinuba,  Ala- 
meda, and  Walnut  Grove.  In  these  Churches  we  have 
nearly  500  members  with  70  probationers.  The  eleven 
Sunday  schools  enroll  450  pupils  and  there  are  five  Ep- 
worth  Leagues  with  70  members. 

In  addition  to  the  Oriental  work  on  the  Pacific  Coast 
the  Women  allocate  a  deaconess  to  a  Japanese  Colony 
at  Terry,  Texas,  near  the  city  of  Beaumont.  Here  is  a 
large  group  of  Japanese  settled  on  a  tract  of  land  pur- 
chased by  a  Japanese  nobleman.  The  older  people  are  all 
Buddhists,  but  desiring  their  children  to  be  reared  as 
Christians  they  petitioned  our  Church  for  a  missionary. 
A  Church  has  been  built  and  here  is  being  carried  on  one 
of  the  most  interesting  programs  of  the  Church. 

V.  In  addition  to  the  work  outlined  above  for  Ital- 
ians, Cubans,  Mexicans,  and  Orientals,  our  Church  main- 

211 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


cains  certain  miscellaneous  activities  for  foreign-speaking 
people.  The  Home  Department,  General  Work,  of  the 
Board  of  Missions,  reports  five  preachers  among  the  Ger- 
mans in  Texas  and  publishes  a  religious  newspaper  in  the 
German  language.  Two  evangelists  are  supported  among 
the  Czechs  in  Texas  and  in  Mississippi  a  most  interest- 
ing and  valuable  work  is  carried  on  among  the  Syrians 
and  other  foreign  groups. 

At  Galveston,  Texas,  the  Home  Department,  Woman's 
Work,  supports  a  port  missionary  who  welcomes  immi- 
grants on  their  arrival  in  the  United  States  and  immedi- 
ately surrounds  them  with  a  Christian  influence.  The 
report  of  this  missionary  shows  that  in  the  course  of  a 
year  he  assists  approximately  2,000  immigrants.  This 
missionary  speaks  several  languages  and  is  therefore 
equipped  to  deal  with  almost  any  person  who  arrives. 

The  women  also  maintain  a  section  of  "polyglot" 
work,  this  being  community  and  social  work  among 
mixed  racial  groups  inhabiting  certain  cities.  Wesley 
Houses  have  been  established  among  such  groups  in  Fort 
Worth,  Texas;  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  and  Biloxi,  Mis- 
sissippi. % 

The  Advance  World  Program 

While  all  of  the  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  among  foreign-speaking  groups  in  its  ter- 
ritory is  not  supported  by  the  Centenary,  every  section 
of  such  work  received  from  this  great  movement  a  new 
impetus.  It  provided  additional  workers  and  institutions 
for  immigrants  all  over  the  South  and  Southwest,  and 
as  a  result  the  work  has  leaped  forward  as  never  before. 
At  the  present  time,  however,  it  is  greatly  suffering  for 
lack  of  Centenary  funds  and  a  large  part  of  the  projected 
program  has  not  been  carried  out. 

212 


IMMIGRANTS 


The  unpaid  Centenary  askings  for  immigrant  work  of 
the  Department  of  General  Work  total  $223,500.  Of 
this  amount  $49,500  is  for  the  Italians,  $10,000  for  the 
Cubans,  and  $164,000  for  the  Mexicans.  For  the  De- 
partment of  Woman's  Work  the  sum  due  and  unpaid 
from  the  Centenary  is  $43,500,  of  which  sum  $21,000  is 
for  the  Mexicans  and  $22,500  for  the  Orientals. 

After  the  Centenary  it  will  be  utterly  impossible  to 
support  our  increased  program  on  the  pre-Centenary 
budget.  There  will  be  an  annual  deficit  of  at  least  $40,- 
000  for  immigrant  work,  and  unless  this  amount  is  raised 
in  the  Advance  World  Program  a  large  section  of  the 
activity  we  are  now  carrying  on  for  the  foreign-speaking 
people  in  our  midst  must  of  necessity  be  disbanded. 


Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Immigrants,  General.  $223,500 
Unpaid  Centenary  for  Immigrants,  Women . .  43,500 
Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   40,000 


213 


BEQUEST 


Fletcher  OJcla,  Dec.  25th,  1922. 

We  the  Comanche  Peopel  of  kittle  Washita  Community 
Bast  of  Fletcher  Comanche  County,  State  of  Oklahoma  doehery 
request  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  to  reopen 
work  and  Reestablish  our  Church  on  the  land  still  owned  by 
the  M.  E.  Church  South. 

II 

M 


7k 


r 


PETITION  FROM  INDIANS,  SIGNED  BY  THUMB-PRINTS,  BEGGING  FOR  THE 

ESTABLISHMENT  OF  A  CHURCH. 


214 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
INDIANS 

OUR  treatment  of  the  Indians  is  the  darkest  blot  on 
the  page  of  American  history.  This  mighty  land 
was  once  his  own,  but  we  wrested  it  from  him 
without  giving  anything  in  return.  The  Red  Man  has 
been  robbed,  deported,  murdered,  debauched,  and 
treacherously  dealt  with  by  the  white  man,  and  today  the 
miserable  descendants  of  a  once  lordly  race  are  huddled 
here  and  there  on  reservations  where  they  live  on  the 
bounty  doled  out  to  them  by  the  people  who  stripped 
them  of  their  ancient  domain.  No  man  is  proud  of  our 
record  in  this  regard,  and  though  it  is  now  too  late  to 
undo  the  past  we  are  at  least  under  the  responsibility  of 
giving  to  the  Indian  the  advantages  of  our  Christian 
civilization. 

Many  notable  authorities  believe  that  there  are 
more  Indians  in  the  United  States  today  than  at 
any  previous  time.  There  are  350,000  of  them,  and 
they  are  found  in  every  state  in  the  Union.  They  live 
on  161  reservations  and  in  many  states  where  there 
are  no  reservations.  They  belong  to  280  separate  tribes 
or  bands  and  speak  58  different  dialects.  Only  165,000 
of  them  are  full-blood  Indians. 

The  day  of  the  savage  Indian  has  passed.  Most  of 
them,  though  poor  and  ignorant,  may  be  regarded  as  civ- 
ilized, although  there  still  remains  a  large  number  of 
"blanket"  Indians  belonging  to  the  "wild  tribes." 

-sft  4fe 

The  need  of  the  Red  Man  perhaps  surpasses  that  of 
any  other  section  of  our  population.    They  are  illiterate 

215 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


and  superstitious  and  many  vestiges  of  their  old  pagan 
religion  of  nature-worship  still  cling  about  them.  The 
white  man  has  taught  the  Indian  to  drink  and  gamble, 
and  these  today  constitute  his  besetting  sins.  Many  young 
Indians  have  left  the  reservations,  attended  the  white 
man's  colleges  and  adopted  his  ways,  but  on  returning  to 
his  home  he  found  himself  denied  companionship  and  so 
in  time  drifted  "back  to  the  blanket." 

At  the  present  time  the  Indian  race  is  menaced  by 
the  use  of  the  deadly  drug  peyote.  This  drug  is  made 
from  a  species  of  Mexican  cactus  and  is  one  of  the  most 
powerful  intoxicants  known.  In  their  ignorance  the 
Indians  have  imagined  that  the  experiences  produced 
by  this  drug  are  akin  to  religion,  and  they  have  en- 
deavored to  develop  a  "peyote  Church"  in  which  one  of 
the  chief  rites  is  the  taking  of  this  drug  until  it  pro- 
duces a  drunken  stupor.  In  spite  of  all  the  efforts  of 
the  government  to  prohibit  the  use  of  peyote  it  still 
continues  and  the  people  have  thus  injected  into  their 
religion  a  most  vicious  element. 

A        *  * 

-\>>  *^  "^P 

When  we  consider  the  fact  that  they  have  had  an 
alphabet  for  only  a  century,  the  Indians  have  made  rapid 
progress  in  education.  On  all  the  reservations  the  govern- 
ment maintains  schools  for  them,  and  these  are  supple- 
mented by  many  mission  schools  supported  by  the  various 
denominations,  while  in  practically  all  States  Indian 
children  are  admitted  to  the  schools  for  the  whites.  There 
are  268  government  schools  for  Indians,  including  166 
day  schools,  52  reservation  boarding  schools,  and  21  non- 
reservation  schools. 

Yet  the  educational  situation  is  deplorable.  There 
are  nearly  20,000  eligible  Indian  children  who  do  not 

216 


INDIANS 


attend  school.  There  are  about  500  Seminoles  in 
Florida,  practically  all  full  bloods,  and  160  of  them 
are  minors.  Yet  there  is  not  a  single  school  of  any 
kind  open  to  these  children.  All  are  illiterate.  It  is 
small  wonder,  then,  that  these  Indians  are  still  uncivil- 
ized, existing  by  hunting  and  fishing  and  practicing 
their  ancient  tribal  pagan  customs.  There  is  no 
Church  or  Christian  institution  of  any  kind  among  the 
Seminoles,  and  only. ten  of  them  are  professing  Chris- 
tians. 

Among  the  Navajos  of  New  Mexico  there  are  5,295 
children  with  no  educational  facilities  whatever;  the 
total  capacity  of  all  the  schools  of  every  kind  in  reach  of 
them  is  only  886.  It  is  estimated  that  93%  of  all  the 
Navajos  are  wholly  illiterate.  Justly,  then,  the  govern- 
ment's highest  Indian  official  cries  out  in  his  report 
(1922)  :  "As  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  I  am  not 
willing  to  longer  overlook  the  failure  to  provide  schools 
for  these  native  Americans." 

i 

Mi-         ■  ■  9 

In  1736  an  Indian  chief  welcomed  John  Wesley  to 
Savannah,  and  urged  him  to  Christianize  the  people. 
In  1832  four  chiefs  from  the  far  West  spent  six  months 
in  St.  Louis  trying  vainly  to  secure  a  copy  of  the  Bible 
for  their  people.  Even  today  only  two  of  the  280  tribes 
have  the  whole  Bible  in  their  native  dialect.  We  have 
never  really  evangelized  the  Red  Man,  and  it  is  there- 
fore not  surprising  that  he  still  remains  among  us  as  a 
virtual  heathen. 

Nearly  half  of  all  the  Indians  in  the  United  States 
live  in  Oklahoma,  and  it  is  there  that  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  concentrates  its  work.  Its  activity 
is  for  the  most  part  carried  on  among  the  Five  Civilized 

217 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


Tribes,  although  some  evangelistic  work  is  done  among 
the  wild  Kiowas.  The  nature  of  this  work  is  the  regular 
activity  of  Methodism  and  it  is  organized  in  the  Indian 
Mission.  This  Mission  has  two  districts  and  81  local 
Churches.  These  Churches  are  all  in  the  rural  districts, 
the  Indians  in  the  large  centers  attending  the  white 
Churches.  The  houses  of  worship  are  invariably  small, 
most  of  them  being  one-room  wooden  structures.  Most 
of  the  pastors  are  themselves  Indians  and  practically  all 
of  the  services  are  conducted  in  the  tribal  dialects.  In 
the  annual  meeting  it  is  necessary  to  have  two  or  three 
interpreters  to  translate  the  remarks  of  the  presiding 
Bishop  into  the  tongues  of  the  several  tribes  represented. 

a    *  * 

The  official  statistics  show  that  in  the  Indian  Mission 
there  are  2,700  members  and  these  own  66  Church  build- 
ings. Many  congregations  are  forced  to  worship  in  the 
schools  or  in  the  homes  of  the  people  because  the  Church 
has  been  unable  to  provide  buildings  for  them. 

In  addition  to  the  work  of  the  Indian  Mission  in  Okla- 
homa, the  Home  Department  of  the  Board  of  Missions 
maintains  one  missionary  among  1,400  Nez  Perce  Indians 
living  on  the  Fort  Lapwai  reservation  in  Idaho.  This 
is  a  new  mission,  but  since  1918  a  strong  congregation  has 
been  built  up.  The  Nez  Perces  are  good  Indians.  Many 
are  Christians  and  it  is  said  that  the  unconverted  among 
them  are  referred  to  as  "pagans." 

Other  than  the  Churches  above  mentioned  we  main- 
tain but  one  institution  for  the  service  of  the  Indians. 
This  is  the  Willis  Fulsom  Training  School  which  was 
built  by  the  Centenary  in  1921  at  Smithville,  Oklahoma. 
The  school  is  in  the  midst  of  a  large  Indian  population, 
27%  of  whom  are  illiterate,  and  it  gives  an  educational 

218 


INDIANS 

opportunity  to  many  who  otherwise  would  be  denied  it. 
The  school  is  always  crowded  with  eager  young  people 
in  training  to  become  leaders  among  the  Indians. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

All  of  the  missionary  work  of  the  Church  among  the 
Indians  is  under  the  direction  of  the  Home  Department 
of  the  Board  of  Missions,  General  Work.  The  salaries 
of  most  of  the  Indian  preachers  must  be  supplemented 
and  assistance  must  be  rendered  in  the  building  of  the 
small  Churches.  The  funds  derived  from  the  Centenary 
have  not  only  built  the  Willis  Fulsom  Training  School 
but  have  also  been  responsible  for  the  development  of 
many  Churches  and  the  conversion  of  a  large  number  of 
the  people.  The  sum  of  $10,000  remains  unpaid  on  the 
Centenary  askings,  however,  and  this  must  be  paid  before 
additional  equipment  for  the  school  can  be  provided. 

After  the  Centenary  this  school,  some  of  the  Churches, 
and  several  pastors  will  be  without  support,  since  the 
advance  work  cannot  all  be  carried  on  the  pre-Centenary 
budget,  and  it  will  require  new  money  in  the  sum  of 
$10,000  annually  to  continue  our  work  among  the  Red 
Men  on  the  scale  to  which  the  Centenary  has  brought  it. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Indian  Work,  General . .  $10,000 
Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General ......  10,000 


219 


220 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


MOUNTAINS 


HE  Appalachian   Mountains   stretch   from  the 


southern  border  of  Pennsylvania  to  the  northern 


counties  of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  a  straight  dis- 
tance of  more  than  650  miles.  In  the  entire  region  there 
are  253  counties  and  a  territory  of  107,609  square  miles; 
the  highland  region  covers  the  whole  of  West  Virginia 
and  parts  of  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Maryland,  North  Caro- 
lina, Tennessee,  South  Carolina,  Alabama,  and  Georgia 
The  population  in  all  of  these  counties  is  more  than 
6,000,000.  Ninety-eight  of  the  counties  involved  are  en- 
tirely mountainous  and  129  of  them  are  rural  counties 
having  no  towns  with  as  many  as  2,500  inhabitants. 

In  the  Appalachian  territory,  of  course,  there  are  many 
large  cities  and  wide  sections  which  are  as  progressive 
and  highly  cultured  as  any  other  part  of  America.  But 
this  is  not  true  of  the  rural  mountain  counties.  The  in- 
terior is  a  land  of  isolated  coves  and  mountain  recesses, 
inhabited  by  a  people  who  possess  few  of  the  benefits  of 
our  modern  civilization.  Approximately  4,000,000  peo- 
ple of  the  mountaineer  type  may  be  regarded  as  consti- 
tuting a  mission  field. 


It  has  often  been  pointed  out  that  these  mountaineers 
are  the  purest  Anglo-Saxon  stock  of  America.  The  hills 
were  settled  largely  by  a  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  people  who, 
between  1730  and  1760,  became  stranded  in  the  fastnesses 
of  the  hills.  Their  descendants  remain  there  until  this 
day.  Railways,  telegraph  lines,  good  roads,  modern 
schools,  adequate  Church  facilities,  and  all  the  other  ele- 
ments of  our  modern  life  skirt  the  edges  of  Appalachia 


221 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


but  seldom  invade  the  interior.  There  the  eighteenth 
century  still  prevails. 

These  people  are  real  Americans.  In  many  of  the 
counties  a  foreigner  or  a  negro  is  never  seen.  In  the 
whole  territory  only  1%  of  the  people  are  foreign-born, 
and,  if  we  except  the  mining  regions  of  West  Virginia, 
the  foreign-born  element  in  the  whole  mountain  popu- 
lation is  only  %  of  1%,  and  in  92  counties  it  is  1/10  of 
1%  or  less. 

The  hill  people  have  sturdy  virtues  and  excellent  quali- 
ties of  character.  From  their  ranks  have  come  many  of 
the  men  who  made  America  great,  and  the  mountain  boy 
who  has  a  chance  seldom  fails  to  "make  good."  The 
natural  resources  of  their  country  represent  vast  riches. 
In  many  respects  Appalachia  and  the  Appalachian  folk 
are  real  assets  to  the  country. 

But  they  have  never  had  a  chance.  They  are  isolated 
from  the  outside  world.  Their  highways  usually  follow 
the  course  of  the  mountain  streams  and  are  well-nigh 
impassable.  The  people  know  nothing  of  modern  meth- 
ods of  agriculture,  forestry,  stock-raising,  or  mining,  and 
their  lot  is  constant  toil,  dire  poverty,  and  deep  ignorance. 

The  responsibility  for  redeeming  the  life  of  the  hills 
rests  upon  the  Church.  Education  and  religion  are  the 
supreme  needs,  and  the  States  will  not  provide  the  one 
and  cannot  provide  the  other.  The  mission  schools  which 
the  various  Christian  denominations  maintain  in  the 
mountains  are  doing  practically  all  that  is  being  done  to 
adequately  train  the  youth  of  that  inland  region.  There 
are  perhaps  two  hundred  denominational  and  independ- 
ent schools  in  the  mountains,  the  former  outnumbering 
the  latter  ten  to  one.  The  relative  quality  of  these  Church 
schools  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  in  some  places  the 

222 


MOUNTAINS 


unworthy  public  schools  have  gone  entirely  out  of  busi- 
ness, the  public  funds  being  turned  over  to  the  Church 
schools. 

Education  is  the  supreme  need  of  the  Appalachian 
people,  a  Christian  education  which  will  banish  their 
illiteracy  and  correct  their  false  religious  notions  with- 
out suppressing  those  inherent  spiritual  qualities 
which  constitute  their  chief  value  to  the  country  as 
citizens. 

^      9  S 

The  educational  situation  in  the  mountain  region  is 
deplorable.  The  public  school  is  usually  a  one-room 
mountain  cabin  and  the  teacher  is  seldom  adequately  pre- 
pared to  give  instruction.  According  to  the  1920  census, 
there  are  more  than  600,000  persons  in  this  section  above 
10  years  of  age  who  are  unable  to  read  or  write.  One- 
fourth  of  the  mountain  children  between  the  ages  of 
seven  and  thirteen  years  do  not  attend  school. 

The  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  is  responsi- 
ble for  the  statement  that  the  children  attend  school 
on  an  average  of  only  46  days  in  the  year,  and  that  the 
average  mountaineer  actually  has  not  had  schooling 
equivalent  to  that  of  a  child  who  has  completed  the 
fourth  grade  in  a  city  school.  The  average  length  of 
the  school  term  is  112  days  and  the  average  annual 
salary  received  by  the  teachers  is  about  $237.  When 
the  government  survey  was  made,  the  annual  expendi- 
ture for  the  education  of  each  child  in  the  mountain 
counties  was  only  $4.79,  while  in  the  entire  United 
States  it  was  more  than  $16.00. 

•S^  4£ 

In  the  matter  of  religion  the  situation  in  the  mountains 
is  equally  deplorable.    When  a  well-known  mountain 

223 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


educator  was  asked  to  name  the  things  which  most  de- 
praved the  people  his  reply  was,  "Moonshine  whiskey 
and  hardshell  religion."  The  men  who  settled  these  hills 
were  largely  stern  Calvinists  and  their  children  have 
degenerated  into  hardshell  fatalists.  "They  are  the  joy 
of  the  holy-roller  propagandist,  the  favorite  foraging 
ground  of  the  Mormon  elder,  the  most  promising  field 
of  the  Russellite  tract  distributor." 

Every  fantastic  "ism"  afloat  finds  lodgment  in  the 
hills  and  here  we  find  doctrinal  lines  tightly  drawn. 
Multitudes  of  the  people  are  Baptists  of  the  "Primi- 
tive," "Hardshell,"  "Landmark,"  and  "Two-Seed-in- 
the-Spirit  Predestinarian"  variety.  They  are  sternly 
and  unalterably  opposed  to  Sunday  schools,  missions, 
and  an  educated  or  salaried  ministry.  Many  of  them 
are  opposed  to  education,  and  the  mission  schools  es- 
tablished by  the  great  denominations  meet  their  stern 
disapproval.  In  their  dismal  ignorance  and  fatalism 
these  people  believe  that  "what  is  to  be  will  be."  True 
spirituality  and  morality  mean  little  to  them,  but 
important  points  in  their  doctrine  are  the  origin  of 
Melchizedek,  the  validity  of  baptism  performed  in  run- 
ning water,  the  propriety  of  using  a  musical  instru- 
ment in  worship,  and  similar  trivial  details. 

It  is  easily  apparent  that  the  Southern  highlander  and 
his  children  need  the  full  ministry  of  the  Church  and 
the  broad  culture  which  it  represents.  They  need  to  hear 
and  be  uplifted  by  the  real  Gospel,  which  must  supplant 
the  caricatures  preached  by  their  narrow  sects.  They 
need  education  not  only  in  the  ordinary  subjects  of  the 
schools,  but  they  must  have  a  full  program  of  industrial 
training  which  will  enable  them  to  conserve  their  re- 
sources, reclaim  their  country,  and  transform  the  moun- 
tain region  into  a  section  commensurate  in  all  values 

224 


MOUNTAINS 


with  the  other  parts  of  our  country.  If  these  things  are 
to  be  given  to  the  Southern  highlander  it  must  be  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  Church. 

*  *  * 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  feels  a  spe- 
cial responsibility  in  the  premises  because  Appalachia 
lies  in  the  heart  of  its  territory.  The  Church  has  accepted 
this  responsibility  and  maintains  among  the  mountain 
people  a  varied  activity.  This  activity  is  evangelistic  and 
educational.  Our  Churches  are  established  in  all  of  the 
mountain  counties,  and  in  strategic  places  where  adequate 
local  support  is  not  forthcoming  it  is  supplemented  by 
the  missionary  agencies.  By  supplementing  salaries  hun- 
dreds of  pastors  are  kept  at  work  on  mountain  circuits. 
The  funds  necessary  to  supplement  salaries  come  largely 
from  the  Centenary  and  are  administered  mainly  by  the 
Boards  of  Missions  of  the  local  Annual  Conferences. 
The  Home  Department  of  the  General  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, however,  in  connection  with  its  sustentation  pro- 
gram, contributes  to  the  support  of  nearly  50  preachers 
in  the  highland  regions  of  West  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and 
Tennessee. 

*  *  * 

In  order  to  train  leaders  among  the  mountain  popula- 
tion and  give  to  the  young  people  educational  advantages 
which  public  schools  do  not  offer  them,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  maintains  a  large  number  of 
mission  schools.  These  are  for  the  most  part  academies 
offering  a  standard  High  School  course,  with  industrial 
features  such  as  agriculture,  forestry,  domestic  science, 
dairying,  engineering,  and  carpentry. 

The  following  are  the  Methodist  mission  schools  of 
Appalachia:    Ferrum  Training  School,  Ferrum,  Vir- 

225 


i 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


ginia;  Flat  Rock  High  School,  Flat  Rock,  Alabama; 
Hiwassee  College,  Morrisville,  Tennessee;  Lindsay-Wil- 
son Training  School,  Columbia,  Kentucky;  Reinhardt 
College,  Waleska,  Georgia ;  Rutherford  College,  Ruther- 
ford College,  N.  C. ;  John  C.  C.  Mayo  College,  Paints- 
ville,  Kentucky;  Young  Harris  College,  Young  Harris, 
Georgia ;  Weaver  College,  Weaverville,  N.  C. ;  Cumber- 
land Mountain  School,  Crossville,  Tennessee;  Sloan- 
Hendrix  Academy,  Imboden,  Arkansas;  Brevard  Insti- 
tute, Brevard,  N.  C. ;  and  Sue  Bennett  Memorial  School, 
London,  Kentucky. 

The  Sloan-Hendrix  Academy  is  not  located  in  the 
Appalachian  Mountains  but  in  the  Ozarks.  Conditions 
in  these  hills  are  similar  to  those  in  Appalachia  although 
they  do  not  appear  in  such  an  exaggerated  form.  Bre- 
vard Institute  and  Sue  Bennett  Memorial  School  are 
maintained  outright  by  the  Home  Department  of  the 
Board  of  Missions,  Woman's  Work.  All  of  these  insti- 
tutions are  rendering  a  most  valuable  service  in  educat- 
ing the  boys  and  girls  of  the  mountain  country. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

Each  of  the  mountain  mission  schools  mentioned  above 
have  received  substantial  aid  from  the  Centenary  and 
have  thus  secured  buildings  and  equipment  which  en- 
ables them  to  serve  a  wider  constituency  and  train  many 
more  young  people.  The  Centenary  program  has  not 
been  completed,  however.  Owing  to  the  delinquency  in 
Centenary  payments  there  remain  unpaid  appropriations 
for  the  schools  of  the  Department  of  General  Work  in 
the  sum  of  $214,000.  The  Centenary  likewise  owes  to 
Brevard  Institute  and  Sue  Bennett  Memorial  School, 
maintained  by  the  women,  $15,577.  On  account  of  the 
poverty  of  the  mountain  people  these  schools  must  receive. 

226 


MOUNTAINS 

missionary  assistance  in  order  to  carry  on  their  work  and 
it  is  therefore  imperative  that  the  Centenary  appropria- 
tions be  paid  at  once. 

If  these  askings  are  paid  it  is  believed  that  the  schools 
now  assisted  by  the  Department  of  General  Work  will, 
with  the  support  given  them  by  the  patronizing  Annual 
Conferences,  be  able  to  carry  on  their  work  without  fur- 
ther connectional  aid.  It  will  still  be  necessary,  however, 
to  maintain  missionaries  among  the  people  and  provide 
scholarships  for  promising  mountain  boys  and  girls.  An 
adequate  program  of  this  character  cannot  be  carried  out 
on  the  regular  budget  of  the  Board  of  Missions.  It  will 
be  necessary  to  raise  at  least  $8,000  per  year  in  new 
money  to  prevent  the  curtailment  of  mountain  missions. 
This  is  an  exceedingly  small  sum  in  view  of  the  vast 
policy  of  work  being  carried  on  and  it  is  certain  that  the 
Methodists  of  the  South  will  provide  it. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  the  Mountains,  General.$214,000 
Unpaid  Centenary  for  the  Mountains,  Women  15,577 
Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   8,000 


227 


228 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
NEGROES 

HERE  are  nearly  1 1,000,000  Negroes  in  the  United 


States  and  80%  of  them  are  in  the  South.    In  the 


South  almost  one-third  of  all  the  people  are  col- 
ored, while  in  the  North  and  East  the  average  is  less  than 
2%  of  the  population.  Both  Mississippi  and  South  Caro- 
lina have  more  colored  people  than  whites,  and  in  two 
Mississippi  counties  90%  of  the  inhabitants  are  Negroes. 
We  thus  see  that  the  race  problem  is  distinctly  a  Southern 
problem,  and  it  would  seem  that  the  primary  responsi- 
bility for  the  evangelization  of  the  colored  people  rests 
upon  Southern  Churches. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  has  gladly 
accepted  that  responsibility  and  labors  energetically  for 
the  redemption  of  the  colored  man.  This  has  always 
been  true.  Although  frequently  criticized  as  entertain- 
ing race  prejudice,  our  Church  has  doubtless  done  more 
for  the  salvation  of  the  black  man  than  any  other  white 
denomination  in  the  world. 

When  we  remember  that  a  few  generations  ago  the 
forefathers  of  the  American  Negro  were  African  bar- 
barians and  that  the  race  was  freed  from  slavery  within 
the  memory  of  many  persons  now  living,  we  realize  that 
these  people  have  made  wonderful  progress  in  all  the 
avenues  of  civilization.  But  when,  forgetting  the  im- 
mediate past,  we  look  at  their  situation  today  we  find  it 
deplorable  enough.  Outstanding  leaders  have  been  de- 
veloped, towering  above  the  rank  and  file  as  a  great 
mountain  peak  rises  above  the  valley,  and  these  examples 
give  us  encouragement  concerning  the  future  of  the  race. 
Yet  it  remains  true  that  the  mass  of  our  black  fellow 


229 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 

citizens  are  living  in  the  most  degrading  and  abject  pov- 
erty, ignorance,  and  misery. 

The  census  of  1920  shows  that  22.9%  of  all  the 
Negroes  in  America  over  ten  years  of  age  are  unable 
to  read  or  write,  a  percentage  which  has  fallen  from 
30.4%  since  1910.  Illiteracy  is  higher  in  the  rural  sec- 
tions than  in  towns  and  cities,  as  it  is  also  higher 
among  the  Negroes  over  twenty-one  years  of  age  than 
among  the  children.  The  extent  of  this  ignorance  may 
be  realized  when  it  is  recalled  that  among  our  native 
whites  only  1.6%  are  illiterate. 

The  situation  is  much  worse  in  the  South  than  else- 
where. In  the  Southern  and  Southwestern  divisions 
illiteracy  is  above  26% ;  in  all  the  other  divisions  it  is 
6.6%.  In  Louisiana  it  is  38.5%;  Alabama,  31.3%; 
Mississippi,  29.3%;  South  Carolina,  29.3%;  Georgia, 
29.1%,  But  even  these  statistics  do  not  adequately  por- 
tray the  real  educational  backwardness  of  the  Negro  in 
the  South,  for  hundreds  of  thousands  of  those  who  are 
classed  as  literate  because  they  can  read  or  write  are  but 
slightly  above  the  illiterate  stage.  All  Southern  people 
are  well  aware  that  a  large  majority  of  the  colored  people 
are  densely  ignorant,  possessing  only  the  most  elementary 
rudiments  of  education. 

ft     ft  ft 

In  1844,  when  American  Methodism  was  divided  over 
the  issue  of  slavery,  the  Southern  branch  had  125,000 
Negro  members.  This,  it  has  been  frequently  recog- 
nized, was  "a  larger  number  of  practically  heathen 
converts  than  all  the  missionary  societies  of  America 
had  gathered  upon  all  the  fields  of  the  heathen  world." 
In  its  evangelistic  work  among  the  slaves,  known  as 
"the  plantation  missions"  and  led  by  Bishop  Capers, 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  performed  a 

230 


NEGROES 

missionary  service  without  parallel  in  American  his- 
tory. 

*  *  * 

When  the  Civil  War  broke  out  we  had  more  than 
200,000  Negro  members,  and  during  that  great 
struggle,  although  the  South  was  invaded  by  the 
enemy,  the  Church  disrupted,  and  all  the  people  prac- 
tically pauperized,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  raised  and  spent  nearly  $350,000  for  Negro 
evangelization.  It  is  doubtful  whether  in  the  whole 
history  of  the  Christian  Church  this  record  of  sacrifice 
and  devotion  can  be  equalled.  It  is  certain  that  the 
work  of  Southern  Churches  among  the  slaves  pre- 
vented an  outbreak  among  the  Negroes  during  the 
Civil  War  which  would  have  resulted  in  unimaginable 
horror. 

*  *  * 

After  the  war  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
realizing  that  the  Negro  could  best  develop  by  bearing 
his  own  responsibility,  set  apart  most  of  its  colored  mem- 
bers into  a  separate  Church,  known  as  the  Colored  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  This  did  not,  of  course,  mean 
that  the  white  Methodists  cut  their  colored  members 
adrift.  The  Negroes  were  given  a  Church  of  their  own 
in  order  that  they  might  develop  along  the  lines  of  their 
own  genius,  but  the  white  people  solemnly  covenanted 
to  render  them  all  possible  assistance  and  to  stand  in  the 
relation  to  them  of  the  Mother  Church.  That  relation 
has  been  sustained  from  1870  until  this  day. 

A  few  Negroes  still  remain  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  A  small  number  are  members  of  some 
of  our  Churches  in  this  country.  In  Africa,  of  course, 
our  total  membership  is  Negro,  while  in  Cuba  and  Brazil 
Negroes  join  our  Churches  without  discrimination.  But 

231 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


for  the  most  part  our  service  to  the  race  is  rendered  to 
the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  This  Church 
today  has  370,000  members,  3,500  Churches  and  2,600 
preachers.  Its  organization  and  activities  are  patterned 
after  those  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

One  of  the  chief  elements  of  its  work  is  its  large  educa- 
tional program.  The  Church  has  eight  educational  insti- 
tutions as  follows: 

Lane  College,  Jackson,  Tenn. 
Texas  College,  Tyler,  Tex. 
Miles  College,  Birmingham,  Ala. 
Mississippi  Industrial  College,  Holly  Springs,  Miss. 
Haygood  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute,  Pine  Bluff, 
Ark. 

Oklahoma  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute,  Boley,  Okla. 
Williams  Industrial  School,  South  Boston,  Va. 
Thomasville  High  School,  Thomasville,  Ala. 

Through  these  schools  the  Colored  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  is  producing  leaders  for  its  own  work  and 
also  sending  out  trained  Christian  men  and  women  to  be 
uplifting  forces  in  the  colored  life  of  the  South. 

What  We  Are  Doing  For  the  Negroes 

As  stated  above  most  of  the  activities  of  our  Church 
for  the  colored  people  in  the  South  is  done  through  the 
Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  our  missionary 
agencies  aiding  and  strengthening  the  work  of  this 
Church  in  every  possible  way.  There  are  a  few  excep- 
tions to  this  rule,  particularly  in  the  case  of  our  Woman's 
Work.  The  following  is  a  summarization  of  the  activi- 
ties of  the  Home  Department  of  the  Board  of  Missions 
for  the  Negroes : 

1.  Paine  College,  Augusta,  Georgia.  This  is  the  only 
institution  of  learning  for  Negroes  in  which  we  have  any 

232 


NEGROES 


property  interest.  It  is  owned  jointly  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  and  the  Colored  Methodist 
Church,  and  the  two  denominations  share  in  its  support 
and  government.  The  President  has  always  been  a  white 
man  and  the  faculty  is  composed  of  both  whites  and 
blacks.  The  Centenary  appropriated  $250,000  for  Paine 
College  and  it  is  being  developed  as  a  great  center  for  the 
training  of  teachers  for  the  colored  race.  This  institution 
owns  a  large  and  valuable  campus  with  twelve  buildings. 

2.  Regular  aid  is  given  to  the  schools  of  the  Colored 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  mentioned  above.  Bible 
teachers  are  supported  in  Arkansas  Haygood  College, 
Lane  College,  Miles  Memorial  College,  Mississippi  In- 
dustrial College,  and  Texas  College. 

3.  The  sum  of  $10,000  per  year  is  appropriated  to 
supplement  the  salaries  of  missionary  pastors  in  the  Col- 
ored Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Assistance  is  thus 
given  to  110  such  pastors  in  strictly  missionary  territory. 

4.  A  Summer  School  for  colored  pastors  is  also  main- 
tained annually.  This  is  similar  in  every  respect  to  the 
summer  schools  for  our  own  pastors.  The  sum  of  $45,- 
000  per  year  is  appropriated  for  this  purpose  and  this 
amount  not  only  provides  a  standard  course  of  study 
under  competent  instructors,  but  also  enables  150  colored 
missionary  pastors  to  attend. 

*    *  * 

In  addition  to  the  activities  above  itemized,  the  women 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  are  doing 
work  among  the  colored  people  as  follows : 

1.  Bennett  Hall,  Augusta,  Georgia.  This  is  an  annex 
to  Paine  College  and  is  maintained  for  Negro  girls,  95 
of  whom  live  in  this  dormitory.  It  was  erected  in  1913 
at  a  cost  of  $60,000. 

233 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


2.  Bethlehem  Houses.  The  social  service  institutions 
maintained  by  the  women  for  colored  people  are  known 
as  Bethlehem  Houses,  and  they  correspond  in  a  general 
way  to  the  Wesley  Houses  which  are  operated  for  the 
white  people.  Bethlehem  Houses  are  now  open  in  Nash- 
ville, Chattanooga,  Augusta,  and  Birmingham.  A  staff 
of  salaried  workers  is  maintained  in  each  of  these  houses 
and  the  services  of  a  large  number  of  volunteers  are  also 
utilized.  The  activities  usually  include  day  nurseries, 
clinics,  kindergartens,  playgrounds,  clubs,  classes  and 
similar  service.  At  Augusta  a  day  school  for  Negro  chil- 
dren is  conducted.  The  institution  at  Nashville  is  notable 
for  its  work.  Here  is  maintained  a  dormitory  for  stu- 
dents who  are  being  trained  for  Christian  social  service. 
Three  hundred  boys  and  five  hundred  girls  are  in  the 
various  clubs  and  classes,  400  are  enrolled  in  the  Daily 
Vacation  Bible  School,  300  babies  are  given  medical  at- 
tention each  year,  and  about  4,000  patients  are  treated 
annually  in  the  clinic. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

The  Centenary  meant  much  to  our  Negro  work.  It 
built  the  Bethlehem  House  at  Nashville,  provided  an 
endowment  for  Paine  College,  and  gave  assistance  to  the 
schools  of  the  Colored  Methodist  Church.  Its  program 
is  not  finished,  however.  There  remains  due  on  the  un- 
paid askings  for  the  Negro  work  of  the  Home  Depart- 
ment, General  Work,  $262,436.  This  is  the  largest  sum 
due  to  any  section  of  our  Home  work,  and  without  it 
Paine  College  and  the  other  institutions  will  be  hindered 
in  their  development.  For  the  Department  of  Woman's 
Work  $166,528  is  due  from  the  Centenary. 

The  funds  for  the  maintenance  of  our  Negro  work 
do  not  come  from  the  regular  budget  of  the  Board  of 

234 


NEGROES 


Missions  but  from  a  special  assessment  which  is  laid  upon 
the  Church  by  the  General  Conference.  This  assessment 
is  $60,000,  but  the  income  from  it  is  only  about  $40,000 
per  year.  In  view  of  our  large  program  this  is  a  small 
amount,  and  since  new  avenues  of  service  have  been 
opened  by  the  Centenary  it  is  entirely  inadequate.  If 
our  Negro  work  is  maintained  without  retrenchment  it 
will  be  necessary  to  supplement  this  assessment  by  rais- 
ing $15,000  per  year  for  the  Advance  World  Program. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Negroes,  General  $262,436 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Negroes,  Women   166,528 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   15,000 


235 


236 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


RURAL 

THE  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  is  now, 
and  has  always  been,  a  rural  Church.  We  have 
nearly  20,000  local  Churches  and  of  these  at  least 
15,000  are  in  villages  or  the  open  country,  attached  to 
circuits  and  served  by  part-time  pastors.  This  is  true  in 
spite  of  the  rapid  progress  being  made  by  the  cities  in 
our  territory  and  the  growth  of  the  Church  therein.  Al- 
though we  are  at  the  present  time  experiencing  our 
greatest  development  in  the  cities,  it  still  remains  true 
that  the  overwhelming  majority  of  our  constituency  is  in 
the  country. 

It  is  natural  that  this  should  be  so  because  the  South 
and  Southwest,  notwithstanding  the  phenomenal  growth 
of  the  cities,  are  still  predominantly  rural.  While  New 
England  is  nearly  80%  urban  the  South  is  75%  rural.  In 
Mississippi  nearly  87%  of  all  the  people  live  in  com- 
munities having  less  than  2,500  inhabitants  and  in  the 
whole  South  24,000,000  people  live  in  such  communities, 
21,000,000  of  them  being  in  the  open  country  or  in  vil- 
lages too  small  to  be  incorporated.  Although  the  South 
has  only  one-fourth  of  the  land  area  of  the  nation  it  has 
half  of  the  farms,  and  it  is  said  that  half  of  the  country 
Churches  in  America  are  in  the  South. 

&    &  ■  .& 

These  country  Churches  have  made  the  moral  fibre 
of  our  nation,  and  in  them  have  been  cradled  the  homely 
virtues  that  have  made  our  country  great.  Out  of  them 
have  come  and  still  come  the  preachers  and  missionaries 

237 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


of  the  Church.  The  last  investigation  disclosed  that  66% 
of  all  the  preachers  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  came  from  the  homes  of  farmers  and  11%  came 
from  the  homes  of  other  preachers,  most  of  whom  are  in 
the  rural  sections.  If  we  add  to  this  77%  all  of  those 
that  came  from  the  small  rural  towns  and  villages,  we 
find  that  the  country  district  supplies  nearly  all  of  the 
ministers.  This  is  a  matter  of  common  observation,  and 
while  the  ratio  may  be  expected  to  change  somewhat  with 
the  growth  of  the  city  Church,  it  still  remains  true  that 
in  the  production  of  Christian  workers  the  country 
Church  is  strategic.  Therefore  any  neglect  of  the  coun- 
try Church,  or  any  influence  that  works  it  injury,  is  ex- 
ceedingly dangerous  to  the  denomination. 

An  interesting  illustration  is  the  recent  history  of 
the  Southern  Baptist  and  Southern  Methodist  denomi- 
nations, these  two  being  the  controlling  religious  or- 
ganizations of  the  South.  As  late  as  1890  the  United 
States  religious  census  showed  the  numerical  strength 
of  these  two  denominations  to  be  about  the  same,  the 
Methodists  leading  and  having  more  members  in  half 
the  states.  By  1906,  however,  the  Baptists  had  taken 
the  lead  in  all  the  states  save  Virginia  and  today  out- 
number the  Methodists  by  a  million  members.  This 
Baptist  advance  occurred  chiefly  in  the  rural  sections, 
for  the  last  religious  census  revealed  the  fact  that  the 
Methodists  outnumbered  the  Baptists  in  the  large  cities 
of  the  very  states  wherein  the  Baptist  strength  greatly 
exceeded  the  Methodist.  During  the  period  mentioned 
the  Methodists  have  been  developing  their  great  city 
congregations  and  maintained  no  connectional  rural 
policy,  while  the  Baptists  have  concentrated  on  the 
country  and  made  their  "appeal  to  the  common  man." 

.  6     #  -& 
238 


RURAL 


At  the  present  time  the  country  Church  is  not  holding 
its  own.  It  is,  indeed,  decaying.  The  casual  traveller 
through  the  rural  sections  of  any  part  of  the  country  will 
find  a  large  number  of  small  Churches  abandoned  and 
given  over  to  bats  and  owls.  Yet  the  territory  surround- 
ing these  dead  Churches  is  thickly  populated,  for  the 
population  of  our  rural  territory  is  constantly  growing 
even  though  such  growth  does  not  keep  pace  with  that 
of  the  cities. 

Even  when  the  rural  Churches  have  not  been  aban- 
doned it  is  almost  universally  true  that  they  are  making 
no  progress  commensurate  with  the  development  of  the 
general  life  of  the  community.  Many  of  the  counties 
now  have  trained  experts  who  supervise  agriculture. 
Consolidated  rural  schools  are  springing  up  all  over  the 
country.  Agricultural  colleges  are  filling  our  states  with 
educated  farmers.  Telephones  have  been  installed  in 
nearly  40%  of  the  rural  homes  of  the  country,  while 
nearly  one-third  of  our  farmers  own  automobiles. 

In  the  midst  of  this  great  advance  the  rural  Church 
has  for  the  most  part  either  died  or  stood  still.  Its 
program  of  work  remains  what  it  was  fifty  years  ago. 
Surveys  have  shown  that  10%  of  all  the  rural  congre- 
gations in  the  South  do  not  own  buildings  of  any  kind. 
Ninety  per  cent  of  all  the  buildings  owned  are  of  wood, 
and  80%  have  only  one  room  and  are  lighted  with  oil 
lamps.  Nearly  one-fourth  of  them  receive  outside 
financial  assistance;  in  some  instances  Churches  have 
been  aided  for  fifty  years,  while  one-third  of  those 
investigated  have  received  assistance  for  more  than 
ten  years.  One-fourth  of  them  do  not  even  have  Sun- 
day schools,  and  of  those  existing  only  two-thirds  are 
kept  open  the  entire  year.    Half  of  the  Southern 


239 


FHE  TASK  AHEAD 


counties  studied  had  not  sent  a  person  into  profes- 
sional Christian  service  for  ten  years. 


This  situation  holds  good  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  Investigations  by  the  Home  Depart- 
ment of  our  Board  of  Missions  have  revealed  some  de- 
plorable situations  in  various  sections  of  our  territory. 
In  many  counties  half  of  the  rural  territory  has  no 
Churches  while  other  sections  show  a  large  number,  many 
of  them,  even  of  our  own  denomination,  occupying  the 
same  parish  and  in  competition.  In  one  county  there 
are  seven  Methodist  Churches  within  six  miles  of  a  cer- 
tain town  while  many  communities  in  other  sections  of 
the  same  county  have  no  religious  advantages  whatever. 
In  the  town  just  mentioned  there  are  five  Churches,  the 
total  value  of  which  is  not  more  than  $15,000,  while  the 
monuments  in  the  cemetery  are  valued  at  $25,000.  This 
rural  village  has  spent  nearly  twice  as  much  for  the  dead 
as  for  the  living. 

Our  territory  is  literally  covered  with  dead  Meth- 
odist Churches;  indeed,  the  number  of  abandoned 
Churches  is  10%  of  the  number  living,  a  total  of  nearly 
2,000.  Why  were  they  abandoned?  The  casual  ob- 
server might  reply  "Because  the  members  moved 
away,"  forgetting  the  fact  that  if  some  people  moved 
out  others  moved  in.  An  intensive  study  of  a  large 
number  of  abandoned  Churches  has  shown  that  only 
6%  of  them  were  absorbed  by  other  Methodist 
Churches  and  scarcely  25%  of  the  members  united 
with  other  congregations  after  their  own  disbanded. 
Lack  of  financial  support  killed  26%  of  them  and  a 
lack  of  pastoral  oversight,  which  was  due  mainly  to 

240 


RURAL 


a  lack  of  financial  support,  was  responsible  for  the 
death  of  11%  of  the  others. 

In  a  study  of  22  counties  of  Tennessee,  986  country 
Churches  were  located  and  it  was  found  that  175  of  them 
had  been  abandoned.  In  these  counties  more  than  60% 
of  all  the  preachers  followed  other  occupations  also.  In 
Houston  County,  Texas,  22  abandoned  Methodist 
Churches  were  found,  and  their  death  left  two-thirds  of 
the  county  without  Methodist  influences;  it  is  said  that 
most  of  the  crimes  are  committed  in  the  section  where 
the  majority  of  the  dead  Churches  are  found. 

*         *  A 

What  are  the  causes  of  the  decay  of  the  country 
Church?  The  first  that  may  be  mentioned  is  the  lack 
of  financial  support.  Our  country  people  are  not  poor, 
but  they  are  untrained  in  the  principles  of  Christian 
stewardship  and  do  not  give  to  their  Church  sufficient 
funds  to  support  it.  This  means  that  they  cannot  have 
the  full-time  service  of  a  pastor,  and  such  pastors  as  they 
do  have  are  often  untrained  men.  As  pointed  out  above, 
most  of  our  Churches  are  on  circuits.  They  have  preach- 
ing services  once  or  twice  a  month.  The  pastor  is  a  non- 
resident in  most  cases  and  so  the  people  have  little  of  his 
personal  ministry  and  oversight.  Being  an  untrained  man 
he  is  not  always  able  to  project  and  carry  out  modern 
Church  programs  or  hold  the  allegiance  of  the  young 
people  in  the  various  communities. 

This  leads  to  another  cause  of  the  decay  of  the  country 
Church,  namely,  its  lack  of  an  adequate  program.  In 
the  midst  of  the  revolutionary  changes  in  country  life 
the  Church  can  scarcely  hope  to  retain  its  influence  with 
a  program  which  has  not  changed  in  any  essential  in  half 
a  century.    The  country  people  need  leadership.  Com- 

241 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


munity  programs  need  to  be  worked  out.  Recreational 
and  cultural  life  need  to  be  encouraged  and  supervised. 
And  in  order  to  be  the  controlling  institution  in  the  com- 
munity the  Church  program  should  include  all  of  these- 
elements. 


Another  cause  is  the  shifting  of  the  rural  popula- 
tion. Gradually  the  proprietors  are  removing  from 
the  farms  to  the  near-by  towns  and  tenants  take  their 
places  on  the  soil.  The  proprietors  were  usually  mem- 
bers and  supporters  of  the  Church,  but  the  Church  has 
not  succeeded  in  reaching  the  tenant  farmer.  There- 
fore the  shifting  of  the  population  means  the  death 
of  many  country  Churches,  even  though  the  com- 
munities remain  thickly  settled.  In  this  situation  the 
Church  must  adopt  some  program  of  service  and  evan- 
gelism that  will  reach  the  tenant  class. 

The  "croppers"  and  "share"  tenants  are  the  poorest  and 
most  unstable  class  of  farmers.  They  own  little  or  nothing 
in  their  own  right  and  are  victims  of  absentee  landlord- 
ism. They  drift  from  farm  to  farm  and  community  to 
community,  not  infrequently  moving  every  year.  Per- 
manent institutions  can  scarcely  be  built  on  this  class. 
Yet  this  is  the  very  class  that  is  most  numerous  in  the 
South  and  Southwest;  of  1,592,131  tenant  farmers,  1,- 
212,315  are  either  share  renters  or  croppers,  there  being 
about  equal  numbers  of  each.  The  farms  operated  by 
tenants  are  small,  averaging  about  eighty-seven  acres  in 
the  South  and  Southwest,  or  about  half  as  large  as  the 
farms  operated  by  owners  and  one-tenth  the  size  of  those 
operated  by  managers.  For  our  present  purpose  it  is 
significant  that  in  this  section  considerably  more  than,  half 
of  the  farmers  reported  had,  at  the  time  of  the  last  United 
States  Census,  been  on  the  land  they  then  occupied  less 

242 


RURAL 


than  four  years,  while  nearly  one-third  had  been  located 
only  one  year  or  less. 

That  such  a  situation  constitutes  a  vexing  .problem  for 
the  Church  is  at  once  apparent.  The  results  of  evangelism 
among  these  tenants  may  be  dissipated  in  a  quadrennium 
by  the  steady  shifting  of  the  people.  Yet  it  should  not  be 
impossible  of  solution.  The  tenants  seldom  move  far, 
and  always  others  take  their  places.  Given  a  trained 
leadership  in  the  country  Church  and  an  efficient  superin- 
tendency  over  or  cooperation  between  the  Churches  and 
the  circuits  of  a  given  area,  the  moving  members  could  be 
followed  and  transferred  so  that  they  need  not  be  lost. 


The  crux  of  the  situation,  however,  is  not  the  difficulty 
of  keeping  track  of  the  tenants  after  they  have  been  won, 
but  of  winning  them  in  the  first  place.  The  country 
Church  is  not  reaching  them.  The  surveys  of  the  Inter- 
church  World  Movement  showed  that  the  percentage  of 
tenants  among  farmers  almost  invariably  was  greater  than 
the  percentage  of  tenant  farmers  in  the  Church  member- 
ship. There  is  in  fact  a  decline  in  the  Church  wherever 
there  is  a  high  rate  of  farm  tenancy. 

The  tenant  farmers  are  in  need  of  help,  not  alone 
from  the  Church,  but  also  from  the  nation.  They  are 
not  antagonistic  to  the  Church,  but  in  their  ignorance 
and  poverty  they  feel  that  it  is  not  for  them.  Tenancy, 
illiteracy,  and  a  low  ratio  of  Church  membership 
usually  go  hand  in  hand.  Frequently  fanatical  sects 
build  on  this  ignorance  and  reap  a  rich  harvest.  There 
is  here  a  great  demand  and  opportunity  for  the  most 
intense  evangelistic  activity  coupled  with  an  efficient 
plan  to  conserve  its  immediate  results. 


243 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 

What  We  Are  Doing  In  the  Country 

It  is  not  putting  the  case  too  strongly  to  say  that  the 
situation  is  desperate  with  the  country  Church.  It  is 
slipping,  and  if  we  permit  the  decadence  to  continue 
Methodism  will  eventually  be  eliminated  from  the  rural 
section.  The  Board  of  Missions  is  cognizant  of  the  situ- 
ation and  has  adopted  a  rural  policy  which  is  not  sur- 
passed in  quality  by  that  of  any  other  denomination  in 
America.  This  program  is  in  its  entirety  a  product  of 
the  Centenary.  Before  this  movement  we  took  no  con- 
nectional  cognizance  of  the  fact  that  the  country  Church 
needed  help,  but  in  the  past  few  years  some  remarkable 
achievements  have  been  witnessed.  The  various  elements 
in  the  rural  program  of  the  Home  Department  of  the 
Board  of  Missions  are  as  follows: 

1.  Certain  districts  have  been  selected  and  designated 
as  "demonstration  districts."  An  appropriation  has  been 
made  to  each  and  the  presiding  elder  has  been  asked  to 
use  the  money  in  working  out  and  putting  into  operation 
some  plan  that  will  solve  the  various  problems  of  the 
rural  Church.  The  Home  Department  of  the  Board  of 
Missions  has  cooperated  with  these  presiding  elders.  It 
is  proposed  to  pursue  this  policy  for  some  years  and  then 
give  to  the  Church  the  results  achieved  in  the  various  dis- 
tricts, thus  providing  for  all  districts  an  adequate  country 
Church  program. 

In  these  "demonstration  districts"  large  liberty  is 
permitted  in  adjusting  the  program  to  the  local  situation. 
Usually  a  preliminary  survey  has  been  made  and  the  dis- 
trict has  been  mapped  so  as  to  show  the  active  and  aban- 
doned Churches  and  the  sections  where  Methodist 
Churches  are  needed.  Evangelistic  campaigns  have 
been  put  on  with  a  view  to  reviving  the  dead  Churches 

244 


RURAL 


and  establishing  new  congregations,  while  financial  assist- 
ance has  been  rendered  in  the  building  of  new  Churches. 

Some  remarkable  results  have  already  been  secured. 
In  a  district  in  South  Georgia  it  was  found  that  only 
seven  of  the  102  Methodist  Churches  had  two  services 
each  Sunday.  In  one  county  of  this  district  it  was  dis- 
covered that  57  Churches  of  all  denominations  had  only 
27  pastors,  22  Sunday  schools,  and  9  young  peoples'  or- 
ganizations. The  average  member  paid  only  $1.12  per 
year  to  the  Church.  In  this  county  the  courthouse  and 
jail  cost  $210,000  while  all  the  Church  property  com- 
bined cost  only  $87,800.  The  expenses  of  the  courts  for 
one  year  were  $47,700  while  the  total  Church  expense  was 
less  than  $35,000.  During  1923  the  number  of  people 
uniting  with  all  the  Churches  combined  was  less  than 
40%  as  large  as  the  number  charged  with  crime. 

In  a  North  Alabama  District  11  different  varieties  of 
Baptists  were  found  in  one  county.  Here  were  25  aban- 
doned Methodist  Churches,  and  in  three  years  13  of  them 
were  re-established.  In  a  North  Arkansas  District  49 
abandoned  Churches  were  found  and  6  were  revived  in 
one  year. 

2.  A  number  of  "demonstration  charges"  were  also 
established  and  the  same  general  procedure  is  followed. 
With  the  small  appropriation  made  the  pastors  of  these 
rural  Churches  are  endeavouring  to  develop  community 
Church  programs.  Some  of  these  have  already  become 
noted  and  have  made  wonderful  records.  The  result  of 
these  experiments  will  also  be  given  to  the  Church  for 
the  inspiration  and  guidance  of  other  rural  pastors. 

3.  Chairs  and  extension  courses  in  rural  Church  lead- 
ership have  been  established  in  Southern  Methodist  Uni- 
versity, Hendrix  College,  Birmingham-Southern  Col- 
lege, and  Central  College.    It  is  hoped  that  other  such 

245 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 

chairs  may  be  founded  in  connection  with  various  institu- 
tions of  learning,  thus  offering  to  young  preachers  and 
students  who  will  later  be  laymen  a  training  in  modern 
methods  of  country  Church  work.  It  is  expected  that 
the  professors  occupying  these  chairs  will  not  only  teach 
in  the  classroom  but  also  spend  a  certain  part  of  their 
time  in  the  field  cooperating  with  the  presiding  elders 
and  pastors  in  solving  the  problems  of  the  rural  Church. 

4.  In  order  to  make  a  similar  training  available  to 
the  country  preachers  who  may  not  attend  the  colleges 
a  large  number  of  Rural  Life  Institutes  are  held.  In  the 
country  districts  the  pastors  meet  for  two  or  three  days, 
and,  under  the  guidance  of  trained  men,  consider  their 
various  problems.  These  Institutes  are  extremely  serv- 
iceable to  our  rural  preachers. 

5.  The  Woman's  Department  of  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions has  also  taken  a  hand  in  the  rural  problem  and  has 
already  launched  work  in  three  country  districts.  In  each 
of  these  a  woman  worker  is  supported.  She  travels  the 
district  by  automobile,  visits  the  pastors  and  Churches, 
trains  and  organizes  the  women,  and  renders  an  invalu- 
able community  service.  One  of  these  workers  has  been 
able  to  establish  Bible  courses  in  a  consolidated  rural 
school;  the  school  authorities  cooperate  most  heartily 
and  the  teacher  gives  religious  instruction  in  the  class- 
room to  most  of  the  pupils. 


The  Advance  World  Program 

The  work  outlined  above  constitutes  a  vastly  important 
activity  for  the  country  Church.  Nothing  like  it  was  ever 
attempted  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
before.  It  is  all  a  product  of  the  Centenary  and  it  can 
be  carried  on  only  as  the  Centenary  pledges  are  paid. 

246 


RURAL 


There  is  a  deficit  in  the  Centenary  askings  for  this  form 
of  service  of  $29,500  for  the  Home  Department,  General 
Work.  There  is  no  hope  of  long  maintaining  this  type 
of  activity  unless  this  money  is  received. 

But  what  will  become  of  our  rural  program  after  the 
Centenary?  There  is  but  one  answer.  New  money  must 
be  secured  to  support  it  or  it  must  be  entirely  abandoned. 
Nothing  is  available  for  it  in  the  regular  budget  of  the 
Board  of  Missions.  It  will  require  for  its  continuance 
$20,000  per  year.  In  view  of  the  importance  of  the  rural 
Church  and  the  distressing  situation  in  which  we  now 
find  it,  surely  Southern  Methodists  will  not  consent  to 
the  total  elimination  of  the  only  connectional  program 
we  ever  projected  for  its  assistance. 


Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Rural  Work,  General . . .  $29,500 
Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance,  General   20,000 


247 


THE  REMAINING  FRONTIER.     NEW  YORK  CITY  ALONE  HAS  THREE 
AND  A  HALF  MILLION  PEOPLE  MORE  THAN  THE  ELEVEN 
STATES  OF  THE  FAR  WEST. 

248 


CHAPTER  XXX 
SUSTENTATION 

BY  Sustentation  Work  is  meant  paying  or  supple- 
menting the  salaries  of  preachers  in  mission  terri- 
tory. It  is  therefore  one  of  the  fundamental  lines 
of  service  rendered  by  any  Church,  since  it  means  the 
extension  of  the  Kingdom  among  and  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel to  people  who  otherwise  could  not  hear  it.  Just  as 
conditions  in  a  heathen  nation  makes  it  necessary  for 
Boards  of  Missions  to  assume  the  entire  support  of  for- 
eign missionaries,  so  conditions  in  certain  parts  of  our 
country  today  make  it  incumbent  upon  the  Church  to 
sustain  preachers  by  outside  aid  or  else  leave  these  sec- 
tions without  an  adequate  religious  ministry. 

In  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  every  An- 
nual Conference,  through  its  local  Board  of  Missions, 
appropriates  large  annual  sums  to  the  support  of  mission- 
ary pastors  within  its  own  borders.  But  in  certain  parts 
of  our  territory  the  mission  fields  are  so  great  that  the 
Annual  Conferences  cannot  cope  with  the  situation  and 
it  is  therefore  necessary  for  the  General  Boards  of  Mis- 
sions to  lend  a  hand. 

Connectional  Sustentation  Work  is  carried  on  in  cer- 
tain of  the  border  conferences  where  the  presence  of 
other  branches  of  Methodism  result  in  a  weakening  of 
the  local  strength  of  each,  and  also  in  the  Far  West  where 
the  field  is  so  great  in  extent  that  all  denominations  com- 
bined can  scarcely  evangelize  it.  It  is  in  this  territory, 
in  the  Southwest  and  along  the  Pacific  Coast,  that  most 
of  the  Sustentation  Work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  is  done. 

249 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


When  American  Methodism  was  divided  in  1844  it  was 
on  the  basis  of  the  historic  Plan  of  Separation  which  pro- 
vided that  neither  the  Northern  nor  the  Southern  branch 
would  project  work  in  the  territory  of  the  other.  The 
West  was  not  involved  in  this  arrangement,  however,  for 
the  very  simple  reason  that  this  territory  was  not  then  a 
part  of  the  United  States  and  Methodism  had  not  been 
introduced  there.  At  the  time  of  the  division  of  Meth- 
odism our  country  was  bounded  on  the  West  by  the 
Louisiana  Purchase,  the  extreme  western  limit  of  which 
fell  through  the  present  states  of  Montana  and  Colorado. 
Texas,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Colorado,  Idaho,  Nevada, 
Utah,  Oregon,  and  Washington,  have  all  been  added  to 
our  domain  since  that  time,  and  consequently  this  terri- 
tory has  always  been  an  open  field  for  both  branches  of 
Methodism. 

*        *  * 

-s>-  -sy-  -^P 

If  it  be  asked  why  Southern  Methodism  maintains  mis- 
sionary work  in  the  West  and  Northwest,  a  sufficient 
answer  would  be  that  there  is  the  greatest  spiritual  need 
of  America.  Religion  declines  as  we  travel  westward. 
According  to  the  latest  United  States  religious  census, 
47%  of  all  the  people  in  New  England  are  Church  mem- 
bers and  in  the  Middle  Atlantic  States  44%.  West  of 
the  Mississippi  River,  however,  the  percentage  drops  be- 
low 38  and  on  the  Pacific  Coast  it  is  only  24.  In  the 
United  States  as  a  whole  61%  of  all  Church  members 
are  Protestants,  while  in  the  West  and  Northwest  only 
40%  are  Protestant,  60%  being  mainly  Roman  Catholics 
and  Mormons. 

Let  us  look  at  some  further  facts  which  prove  our 
western  country  to  be  virtually  a  mission  field.  In 
Montana  the  Protestant  membership  is  only  8%  of  the 
total  population,  in  Idaho  11%,  in  Oregon  17%,  in 

250 


SUSTENTATION 


Washington  18%.  Nearly  three-fourths  of  all  the 
people  in  these  states  have  no  religious  affiliations 
whatever.  According  to  the  United  States  census, 
from  which  these  figures  are  all  taken,  there  are  only 
12,000  Protestants  in  Utah  out  of  a  total  Church  mem- 
bership of  280,000;  the  strongest  denomination  is  the 
Presbyterian,  having  only  2,200  members  in  the  whole 
state.  Nevada  has  but  4,000  Protestants,  the  strong- 
est denomination  having  only  1,200  members.  There 
are  340,000  people  in  Arizona  and  in  this  entire  group 
there  are  only  97,000  who  profess  any  religious  affilia- 
tion of  any  kind  and  only  20,000  of  these  are  Protes- 
tants. There  are  91,000  Mormons  and  Roman  Catho- 
lics in  Idaho,  while  all  other  religious  organizations 
combined  have  only  44,000  members.  In  New  Mexico 
Catholics  and  Mormons  number  179,000  while  the 
Protestants  number  31,000. 

The  Religious  Census  of  1916  revealed  four  entire 
counties  in  Texas  in  which  there  were  no  members  of 
any  religious  organization,  either  Catholic,  Mormon, 
Jewish,  or  Protestant,  and  there  was  one  such  spiritually 
destitute  county  in  California.  Utah  had  eight  counties 
with  no  religious  people  save  Mormons,  Arizona  had  two 
in  which  there  were  none  save  Mormons  and  Roman 
Catholics,  and  in  Nevada  there  was  a  county  having  but 
nine  professing  Christians,  one  Episcopalian  and  eight 
Roman  Catholics.  In  San  Francisco  there  are  heathen 
temples  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  idols  and  false  gods 
that  are  as  strong  as  many  of  the  Christian  Churches  and 
in  this  same  city  the  telephone  directory  lists  three  times 
as  many  Christian  Science  practitioners  as  preachers, 
priests,  rabbis,  and  Mormon  elders  combined.  While 
such  conditions  do  not,  of  course,  prevail  in  all  the  coun- 
ties of  the  West,  they  illustrate  the  general  truth  that  this 

251 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


section  of  our  country  is  a  vast  mission  field  which  calls 
to  all  of  the  Protestant  forces  of  America  for  evangeliza- 
tion. 

&      9  £ 

The  Northwest,  the  West,  and  the  Southwest  have 
in  recent  years  made  remarkable  progress  in  every  way. 
This  section's  wealth  is  enormous.  The  general  culture 
of  its  native  inhabitants  compares  favorably  with  that 
of  any  section  of  the  world,  but  spiritually  and  religiously 
it  has  made  no  such  progress.  The  people  are  educated 
and  prospering,  but  vast  multitudes  of  them  are  Godless 
and  have  no  appreciation  of  spiritual  values.  The  menace 
of  the  West  is  not  that  of  any  ordinary  form  of  degrada- 
tion but  that  of  a  refined  and  cultured  Godlessness.  The 
great  West  must  be  saved  through  the  promulgation  of 
the  Christian  gospel. 

For  many  years  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  has  been  struggling  with  the  missionary  problem 
of  the  western  portion  of  America.  But  the  field  has 
always  been  too  vast  for  our  resources.  With  the  Cen- 
tenary movement,  however,  came  larger  funds  and  addi- 
tional workers,  and  as  a  result  the  Church  has  gone  for- 
ward by  leaps  and  bounds.  These  Centenary  years  have 
illustrated  what  can  be  done  in  the  evangelization  of  the 
West  if  the  Church  will  provide  adequate  funds  and 
evangelists. 

In  one  quadrennium  we  established  thirty  new  pas- 
toral charges.  In  Arizona  the  number  of  pastoral 
charges  has  been  trebled  and  the  membership  has  been 
multiplied  by  four.  In  New  Mexico  our  membership 
has  doubled;  in  northern  New  Mexico  we  had  nothing 
before  the  Centenary  but  in  four  years  we  succeeded 
in  establishing  fifteen  pastoral  charges  and  opened  up 

252 


SUSTENTATION 


an  entire  new  district  among  a  people  only  7%  of 
whom  belong  to  Protestant  Churches.  The  Centenary 
movement  has  enabled  our  Church  to  occupy  for  the 
first  time  some  of  the  most  important  cities  in  the 
West,  such  as  Glendale,  California;  Tucson  and  Bis- 
bee,  Arizona;  Las  Vegas  and  Clayton,  New  Mexico.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  if  the  Centenary  program 
is  completed  and  the  work  maintained  for  a  few  more 
years  at  the  Centenary  level  our  Church  in  this  sec- 
tion will  be  as  representative  as  it  is  in  the  heart  of 
the  South. 

Of  course  most  of  the  preachers  in  this  section  must 
be  regarded  as  missionaries  and  their  support  supple- 
mented by  the  Board  of  Missions.  In  its  Sustentation 
Work  the  Home  Department  supports  32  preachers  in 
the  Pacific  Conference,  20  in  Arizona,  32  in  New 
Mexico,  38  in  the  Northwest  Conference,  and  22  in  the 
Denver  Conference,  besides  large  numbers  of  others  in 
the  mission  districts  of  Florida,  North  Arkansas,  Louisi- 
ana, Texas,  Missouri,  West  Virginia,  Illinois,  Kentucky, 
and  Oklahoma.  The  complete  list  of  these  pastors  and 
the  places  wherein  they  are  laboring  is  too  long  to  enu- 
merate here,  but  the  Sustentation  Work  of  the  Home  De- 
partment of  the  Board  of  Missions  is  keeping  hundreds 
of  preachers  at  work  in  the  unevangelized  regions  of  our 
country. 

The  Advance  World  Program 

In  view  of  the  remarkable  achievements  of  the  Cen- 
tenary in  our  Home  Mission  fields  it  is  certainly  desir- 
able that  its  program  be  continued.  There  is  a  deficit  of 
$149,000  on  the  Centenary  askings  for  Sustentation  Work, 
and  when  this  money  is  secured  it  will  accomplish  results 
similar  to  those  achieved  with  the  money  already  paid. 

253 


THE  TASK  AHEAD 


It  is  imperatively  needed,  and  because  it  is  not  forth- 
coming many  of  our  most  important  enterprises  are  on 
the  verge  of  collapse.    It  must  by  all  means  be  secured. 

If  after  the  Centenary  the  Board  of  Missions  is  forced 
to  fall  back  on  its  regular  budget,  it  will  mean  the  im- 
mediate destruction  of  most  of  the  great  program  of  Sus- 
tentation  Work  now  in  operation.  We  have  always  made 
an  appropriation  for  this  work,  but  the  budget  could  not 
possibly  support  the  large  work  now  under  way.  At 
least  $25,000  in  new  money  must  be  secured  or  else  the 
Board  of  Missions  must  immediately  retrench  in  the 
vitally  important  work  of  evangelizing  America. 

Summary 

Unpaid  Centenary  for  Sustentation  Work, 
General    $149,000 

Deficit  in  Annual  Maintenance  for  Sustenta- 
tion Work,  General     25,000 


254 


255 


Date  Dn@ 

NOV  2  7  i 

lit  ii 

 1 

'  

» 

W  5  '53 

BKY  {6  5£ 

N     2  8 

L.  B.  Cat.  No.  1 137 

366A70593T  c%] 


73761 


SCHOOL  OF  RELIGION 


